Can I change serial number of HDD?
 

Hello,

I have a question on which I try to find the answer: Can I change/edit a hard drive serial number or a chip serial number from board on Linux system? (not vmware)
Is there a command that can change the serial number to another?

Thank you

Member response
 

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

Why would you want to change a serial number assignment for any device? Unless you are trying to hide something nefarious or illegal.

If so then you are violating LQ Rules
Please consider re-reading LQ Rules and https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...#faq_lqwelcome so you will be able to post properly here at LQ.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!
:hattip:

First I don't want/like to break any rules!!

Lets take it like something technical question if with linux we can do this. All of us we know if someone want to change a SN it's enough to use a programmer. On the "web" are a lot of example with them like "JTAG" or many others. If my question its a little "different" , which of you have the pleasure to answer can do it also in PM.

Thank you

Moderator response
 

You will not be able to change identifications for manufactured devices since most of the ID's are part of the internal structures when produced. I see no advantage to wish/want to change serial number assignments.

Even refurbished/re-manufactured devices will retain original numbers for identification purposes.

I presented the LQ Rule to advice you not to request anything that could harm LQ, members or third parties. So please do not request anyone to provide you the means to violate these rules. If you wish to make changes to a specific device then I suggest that you contact the manufacture not a forum here at LQ.

As to your JTAG comment then I suggest that you read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JTAG

Maintaining hardware warranty or software licensing are the only reasons I can see for changing a Serial No.

I'm not trying to infringe any LQ rules or start an argument, but we used to change the Serial No of replaced HP Proliant motherboards if they failed during the warranty period. The replacement board's serial No was changed back to that of the original within the BIOS. Something like this.
Note: The board's silk screen serial No. marking wasn't changed.

I'm pretty sure that we had some specialist software running on some boxes which was licenced to the system's (motherboard's) serial No. which meant we had to change it for the system to function. :scratch: Hmmm...

There's a question...

If you've paid for a licence to run some software, should you have to buy a new licence when the motherboard fails and is exchanged, change the Serial No. or do you transfer the licence to the new serial No.?
I think we may have used both of the latter options but I'd be interested to hear what's common now. (I've been retired from Computer maintenance for a few years now!)

Anyway, my :twocents:

Play Bonny!

:hattip:

Oops! nearly forgot... This applied to motherboards only, not disks or any other attached device.

These days, with software able to "phone home" it's considerably easier to void / transfer licenses. Back in the distant past we used to "dongle" protect our software with either internal boards or with a device that went on the parallel printer port (back when they were still a thing!)

Then do not ask someone to contact you via other means for any reason. This brings it into the territory of the LQ Rules rule stating:If a piece of hardware has designed blocks to avoid you overwriting an ID number, then discussion about overwriting that ID number is not a permitted discussion on LQ. It does not matter if there are exceptions out there where you can get away with an overwrite, the topic of discussing it is not permitted on LQ.

Rather than persist with any form of academic discussion here, perhaps you ought to research this on your own, by way of a web search. My comment is that you've asked this question, but contrary to the LQ question guidelines for a good question, you haven't even done any background work in advance of posing the question.

Hardware warranty would be on the new device not the original anyway (and valid documentation would legally show any changes)
Why would you legally need to change a software licence anyway???

In reality the burned or programmed number could be easily changed with OEM or maybe some third party software. The OEM has that software usually controlled.

I'd suspect that since a program could change some chip settings then one could maybe use a basic sort of program to modify the memory address region. I used to save test states in the extra space in hard drive eprom. There isn't much space left but the area is a memory location that could be changed. One would have to have insider information as changing some chips could make other parts of it's basic function fail.

High value software may specify that it can be run on a single instance and use the accessible serial number(s) to ensure that it's being used within the terms of the license. Nearly 30 years ago we used to do this for one of our products.

Precisely my point. You would be using it illegally, not to mention immorally.
I doubt you would be happy if you spent considerable time designing something that you rely on for income to live on, and someone copied it and started giving it away.

It's not a nice feeling, especially when someone phones up for support and gets "nasty" when you won't support the software they are using illegally. On the plus side it was rather satisfying to know they had lost all their accounting data for the current financial year and were frantically trying to get it back for a Revenue audit.

I've had people ring in the early hours of the morning wanting "help" with using software I had written and they had ripped off.
They got very FAST help (reverse phone book is extremely useful), not to mention advise that would help them keep warm.
I have caller ID on my phone and I just blip it if they hide their number. Caller preference helps as well - though we got that because my wife was being stalked. I almost never get marketing calls and most of those that I do come from overseas call centres (but get reported anyway) BT tried the excuse that they had no control over foreign calls, but changed their tune quite rapidly when I pointed out that THEY forwarded them and made money from them so they MUST know who and where they came from. Plus it is BT that sell the lists to these people and my number is supposed to be ex-directory (local councils also sell phone lists and they also were told the number is ex-directory and for their use in EMERGENCIES only).
If I want someone to be able to ring me I give them my number, but you cannot completely hide or stop third parties from publishing lists.