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I am running windows Vista Ultimate (activated) and I want to add my Lightscribe DVD drive to my pc.
I have space in my pc, I know how to do all the stuff. The only problem is I heard that you can't add hardware to your pc when vista is activated, some sort of security? That you would need to call microsoft to un-activate your key before you can add the drive?
Is this true? Or can I just add my DVD drive?
pretty sure a dvd drive wont affect vista, i think the mobo change or cpu change causes it to do its activation thing.
It should be just the motherboard you can't change because that's considered to be changing the PC not simply upgrading it.
You'll have no problem upgrading the DVD drive.
The following hardware is checked for the activation hash:
# Display Adapter (5 bits)
# SCSI Adapter (5 bits)
# IDE Adapter (4 bits)
# Network MAC Address (10 bits)
# RAM Amount Range (3 bits)
# Processor Type (3 bits)
# Processor Serial Number (3 bits)
# Hard Drive Device (7 bits)
# Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (10 bits)
# CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM (6 bits)
(This is based on the publicly-available info for XP activation, MS hasn't released full details of the Vista implementation, but it's assumed to be similar. The MS page on it is here. An independent analysis of activation is given here.)
The hardware check allows a number of components to be changed before asking for reactivation. The Network adapter MAC address is given extra weight, but you can change between 3 and 6 of the other components without triggering reactivation. The exact number and weighting isn't publicly known, and some of the estimates from MS are not reliable. Since many of the checked components are integrated into the motherboard, changing your board will definitely require reactivation.
Thanks for your reply's.
Pity thing is my PC is using SATA while my drive is IDE :(
You can get adapters to convert IDE to SCSI, but with the price of optical drives these days you might as well get a SATA one.
What Charleski meant to say was: "You can get adapters to convert IDE to SATA, but with the price of optical drives these days you might as well get a SATA one."
:)
IDE to SATA converter:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=577057
SATA DVD writer:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...=489&OrderBy=3
And as you have more than 25 posts on here, have a look at this for free Scan delivery if you haven't already:
http://forums.hexus.net/announcement...nouncementid=9
I've got the Pioneer 212BK SATA Drive, less clutter than an IDE drive, that's for sure!
It's all about personal preference.
I had to call Microsoft after upgrading one of my PCs to re-authenticate and it was very simple and painless. I just told them I upgraded my PC and they gave me a new Key to use. As long as your copy of windows is legit I wouldnt worry about it.
re-activating is NOT A PROBLEM
if your license is OEM, you can change any components you like except the motherboard, and call to reactivate, without any twinge of fear
if your license is Retail, go nuts
you can activate as many times as you need to. hundreds of times if need be. you have a limited numbe of *online* activations, but i've only ever been asked by i'm installing again once in 6 years