🚀 go-pugleaf

frisk@complex.is (Fridrik Skulason) writes:

> >  I noticed with DOS 5.0 that each floopy and hard disk has a unique
> >  serial number. I would like to access this serial number from code.
> >  If my code could check the number against a known serial number
> >  I could detect whether the user has copied my code to another disk.

> Forget it.

> It would only work if the user copied your software with a COPY comand...
> if he used DISKCOPY or any disk-duplication software, the serial number
> would be copied as well.

Not quite. DISKCOPY in DOS 4.0+ (BTW, the disk(ette) serial number is
available since version 4.0 of DOS) copies everything -but- the serial
number. Similarly, DISKCOMP compares everything, -but- the serial
number. Of course, if you use some other copying facility (or even the
DISKCOPY from DOS 3.30), it will be able to copy the diskette exactly.
Besides, it is trivial to modify the serial number - it is in the boot
sector... In general, I support the advice to the original poster -
forget it, it won't work...

Regards,
Vesselin
-- 
Vesselin Vladimirov Bontchev          Virus Test Center, University of Hamburg
Tel.:+49-40-54715-224, Fax: +49-40-54715-226      Fachbereich Informatik - AGN
< PGP 2.0 public key available on request. > Vogt-Koelln-Strasse 30, rm. 107 C
e-mail: bontchev@fbihh.informatik.uni-hamburg.de    D-2000 Hamburg 54, Germany