[NTLUG:Discuss] Open, free choice -- and Windows XP/ Passport

[Richard Geoffrion]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Baker" <sjbaker1 at airmail.net>
To: <discuss at ntlug.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2001 1:07 PM
Subject: Re: [NTLUG:Discuss] Open, free choice -- and Windows XP/ Passport


> Steve wrote:

[snip]

> I havn't seen anywhere a list of what you can change before XP wigs out on
you.
>
> Suppose you upgrade your motherboard, CPU and RAM?  Is that enough to
invalidate
> the OS?   What about the hard drive?  The NIC?
>

[/snip]

Well here's a list of what WinXP uses to serialize itsself.

"...As described by independent sources -- and recently
confirmed in a Microsoft white paper (see
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/evaluate/xpactiv.asp)
-- WPA examines the value of 10 hardware components
when XP is first activated on a PC. These components
are: (1) CPU type; (2) CPU serial number; (3) boot
drive; (4) boot drive serial number; (5) network
adapter; (6) RAM amount range, such as 0-64MB,
65-128MB, etc.; (7) display adapter; (8) IDE adapter;
(9) SCSI adapter; and (10) CD or DVD drive. XP
identifies some of these devices by reading their
actual serial numbers and identifies others by their
embedded text strings, such as "scsi-ibm."....

...In an installation of XP made from a retail CD,
changing four out of 10 components triggers a need for
"reactivation." But if a PC is configured as
"dockable," then its display, IDE, and SCSI adapters
are ignored and don't count if they change...." -Brian Livingston, Infoworld

Read the full article on
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/01/10/22/011022oplivingston.xml