Motherboard Serial Number C# Code not Work for Some Old Computers

Question

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I have been made C# 2010 Application.
I am using Motherboard Serial number to register my application.

C#

using System.Management;
ManagementObjectSearcher MOS = new ManagementObjectSearcher("Select * From Win32_BaseBoard");
foreach (ManagementObject getserial in MOS.Get())
{
     txtCompanyKey.Text = getserial["SerialNumber"].ToString();
}

It works very well in most of the computers. But some computers return NULL or EMPTY string.
My idea is that old motherboards cannot return serial Number. If my idea is true or not please give me some solution.
Thanks

Posted 14-Feb-13 8:34am

hamaranewton

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Comments

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 14-Feb-13 14:41pm

What could be a solution if this data is not available? You already know that there is no a solution for the motherboard unique number, so, if you still need a solution, tell us: a solution for what?
—SA

3 solutions

Solution 1

It's not true - some modern ones don't either.
The problem is that the data is not "required for compatibility" - so it's cheaper not to add it, so it doesn't get added by all manufacturers.

Sorry, but you can't rely on the MB serial number alone for any form of security (and many of the others can be spoofed as well)

Posted 14-Feb-13 8:47am

OriginalGriff

Comments

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 14-Feb-13 15:09pm

Agree, a 5.
—SA

Solution 3

This works most of the time[^], but I'm afraid you'll find it a bit of a bother.

Another option is to look for the BIOS Serial number[^], using Wmi32_BIOS[^]

Best regards
Espen Harlinn

Posted 14-Feb-13 8:56am

Espen Harlinn

Comments

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 14-Feb-13 15:08pm

My 5. A combination of some not 100% unique features can make for "almost unique" configuration, but it does not look fair to the users. What, no upgrade, no transfer to a different machine?
—SA

Espen Harlinn 14-Feb-13 15:14pm

Thank you, Sergey :-D
>>What, no upgrade, no transfer to a different machine?
Office 2012:http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-pick/retail-copies-of-office-2013-are-tied-to-a-single-computer-forever-20130213/#_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe%2C_renderstart%2Concircled&id=I0_1360872795974&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.geek.com&rpctoken=62649594

fjdiewornncalwe 14-Feb-13 15:21pm

Just because Microsoft does it doesn't make it good... :)

Espen Harlinn 14-Feb-13 15:28pm

True ...

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 14-Feb-13 15:23pm

What?! It sucks. Thank goodness I have older Office from my previous MSDN subscription which was already successfully transferred. However, if I did not have it, I would not be sorry... :-)
—SA

Espen Harlinn 14-Feb-13 15:30pm

More than a few people are a bit unhappy about the new license ... but I guess most don't really care all that much, as it's not them that pays for the package.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 14-Feb-13 15:41pm

That's why this business survives... :-)
—SA

hamaranewton 15-Feb-13 2:10am

Every computer has unique BIOS Serial Number or not????? if answer is not then multiple computer generate same registration key....

fjdiewornncalwe 14-Feb-13 15:31pm

You and me both, Sergey. I wonder if this restriction will apply to my MSDN version of 2013? I haven't checked if it is a retail version or not.

Espen Harlinn 14-Feb-13 15:35pm

I've only seen it mentioned in relation to the boxed retail version ...

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 14-Feb-13 15:46pm

Yes, I noticed that...
—SA

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 14-Feb-13 15:45pm

It depends on MSDN subscription kind. I usually used something called "Visual Studio Professional with MSDN" "level"; and it provides access to a choice of different versions. If I really need something, I make sure I get/generate my licenses and download products for different versions, just in case. And Office 2013 a case when you might want some older versions. After all, who cares if it is the newest one or, say, 2007?
—SA

Espen Harlinn 14-Feb-13 15:50pm

64-bit users comes to mind ..., it's been a while since I last ran out of licenses, and then MS supplied new codes over the phone ... which was nice of them ...

hamaranewton 15-Feb-13 2:09am

Every computer has unique BIOS Serial Number or not?????
if answer is not then multiple computer generate same registration key....

Espen Harlinn 15-Feb-13 3:57am

I'm afraid not, it's just something to try when Win32_BaseBoard does not return a serial number. If you want something that is really unique, you'll have to retrieve the MAC address of the physical network card for the computer.

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fjdiewornncalwe · Accepted Answer · 2013-02-14T08:51:00

The simple answer is that you simply cannot rely on this value to do this. There is no solution.

What you need to do is find another way to register your application. Perhaps you could gather information on multiple parts of a machine and then generate a hash from those values so that as long as one of those components exist you get a valid result. Save the hash at that point.

My personal perspective is that tying a piece of software down to a specific machine is in no way a good way to register an application, so I would suggest looking to do this in a completely different way.

To learn a little more read this[^] article.

Motherboard Serial Number C# Code not Work for Some Old Computers

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