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Change Volume Serial Number Linux

I have been given a couple of SCSI hard drives though this question may apply to any disk. I deal with wiping disks all the time but I have found that the serial numbers on these drives in no way relates to the ones printed on them. I write wipe the drives 3 times but the serial numbers stay the same. I can only guess that the serial is in some hardware on the outside of the disk like a ROM chip and that this has been somehow changed. Does anyone know how to change the serial number of a hard drive, in Windows or Linux? I would be very grateful.

How can I change the hard disk serial number in VirtualBox? In a Linux guest. Change the volume serial number on a VM hard drive. How to get hard disk serial number using Python. This returns the volume serial number, not the HDD serial number. Browse other questions tagged python linux hard-drive serial-number fcntl or ask your own question. 8 years, 1 month ago. 20,773 times.

  1. Also you do not need to change details on the client side of the computer since the client is in control of the client machine the client can spoof all information being sent to a server or a browser. Its pretty simple when you have the facts available.

  2. please , please, please stop speaking on matters which you do not know about. If you do not know if the hardware serial number can be change just say you do not know do not make yourself look unintelligent on the matter by misstating facts. When you misstate facts you make yourself look like an idiot to the people who are familiar with the facts. Let me help you identify an example of device hardware manipulation: cable boxes dummies. And if you do not believe me then do a query in the justice system and read the thousands of police reports collect on criminals caught with modified cable boxes for quick cash. Also when you post comments instead of just letting your mouth run how about providing some references. You can change the GUID the Harddrive serial number and any other number on any machine. If you can forge currency anything else under the sun is game. 'Think before you act'

  3. Thank you all for your input, to follow up on the repllies. I am sure that the S/N is stored in the firmware. As to why, we sell on hard drives that are wiped and people generally expect serial numbers to match.. These particular ones came out of a server rack. Over 130 of them the serial number corresponded to the printed label, and 5 did not. We tried to see how the number had changed and the best suggestion that we came up with was that the firmware pcb may have been changed but this was unlikely. I think these guys may be on to something
    http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=26784 but not sure if it developed further.
    Thanks again to all

  4. Try Hard Disk Serial Number Changer for windows click the following link to download for free
    http://www.xboxharddrive.com/freeware.html

  5. Here is a link explaining exactly how to change the serial nimber of a volume and a hard drive:
    http://www.raymond.cc/blog/changing-or-spoofing-hard-disk-hardware-serial-number-and-volume-id/

  6. Exactly what I was thinking Jim, Why would you want to change them?

  7. You cannot change the hardware serial number since it is stated in the device firmware!

  8. Why?????

  9. All hard drives have a hard coded serial number for the same reason that network adapters have a hard coded MAC address. I can only imagine the disaster that would occur if you had 2 drives in a RAID Array with the same serial number. Probably would open a hole in the space/time continuum. Plus I think the RAID would end destroyed.

  10. Bruce is spot on. The serial number is 'hardwired' into the controller. You can't overwrite it, and this is by design. As far as I know, the same is true for PATA & SATA as well. Serial numbers should not be confused with GUID, which is a unique number (but _not_ a serial no.) allocated to a drive during formatting.

  11. The drive's (hardware) serial number is generally embedded into the firmware of the drive and is not something that can easily (if at all) be modified. Depending on the format of the drive, the OS may also embed its own serial number during a full format process on the drive. This can be changed at will but the process will depend on the format of the drive in question.

  12. Hard Disk Serial Number Changer
    http://www.xboxharddrive.com/freeware.html
    the hardware serial number value won't change even if you format your hard drive.

    PB DownForce
    http://www.raymond.cc/blog/download/?did=1092
    http://www.raymond.cc/blog/changing-or-spoofing-hard-disk-hardware-serial-number-and-volume-id/

A volume serial number, sometimes seen as VSN, is a unique, hexadecimal number assigned to a drive during the creation of the file system during the format process.

The volume serial number is stored in the disk parameter block part of the volume boot record.

Microsoft and IBM added the volume serial number to the format process in 1987 when they were working together to develop the OS/2 operating system.

A drive's volume serial number is not the same as the serial number of the hard drive, floppy disc, flash drive, etc. assigned by the manufacturer.

How Is the Volume Serial Number Generated?

Change Volume Serial Number Linux

Linux Serial Number

A volume serial number is created based on a fairly complex combination of the year, hour, month, second, and hundredth of a second that the drive was formatted.

Because the volume serial number is generated during the format, it will change each time the drive is formatted.

How to View a Drive's Volume Serial Number

One of the easiest ways to view a drive's volume serial number is via Command Prompt, using the vol command. Just execute it without any options and you'll see both the volume serial number, as well as the volume label.

Duplicate Volume Serial Numbers

Since volume serial numbers are not generated at random and without knowledge of the volume serial numbers on other drives in the computer, there's a chance that two drives on the same computer could end up having the same volume serial number.

While the probability of two drives in a single computer getting the same volume serial number is technically possible, the chance is infinitesimally small and isn't usually a concern.

Linux

The only somewhat common reason why you might run into two drives in the same computer with identical volume serial numbers is when you've cloned one drive to another and are using them both at the same time.

Are Duplicate Volume Serial Numbers a Problem?

Duplicate volume serial numbers are not an issue for Windows or other operating systems. Windows will not be confused as to which drive is which if two drives have the same volume serial numbers.

In fact, the volume serial number is used by some software licensing schemes to make sure that an installed copy of the software is being used on the correct computer. When cloning a drive, and the volume serial number remains, it helps ensure that the software you run on the new drive works as you'd expect.

Another piece of data called the disk signature, part of the master boot record, is the truly unique identifier for a hard drive in a computer system.

Changing a Drive's Volume Serial Number

While there's no built-in ability in Windows to change a drive's volume serial number, there are some free, third-party tools that will do the trick.

Your best choice is probably Volume Serial Number Changer, a free, open-source program that shows you some basic information about your hard drive, plus a small field to enter the new volume serial number you want to set.

Another option is Volume Serial Number Editor. This program is very similar to Volume Serial Number Changer but this one isn't free.

Advanced Reading on Volume Serial Numbers

Change Volume Serial Number

If you're interested in finding out more about how volume serial numbers are generated, or how you might be able to tell something about a formatted drive by deciphering the number, we recommending checking out this Digital Detective's whitepaper: Volume Serial Numbers and Format Date/Time Verification [PDF]

Change Volume Serial Number Windows 10

There's more in that paper about the history of the volume serial number, as well as how to view it directly from the boot sector.