Last updated on March 3rd, 2016
Jun 06, 2017 The hard drive serial number or the SSD serial number is different from the volume serial number. To find the hard drive serial number or the solid state drive serial number, enter the following command in the Command Prompt. Wmic diskdrive get serialnumber. This is the serial number you can give you device’s manufacturer if you’re looking.
The Volume Serial Number (also known as VSN) is a unique serial number that is assigned to an optical disk (CD or DVD) or a hard drive after formatting. The Volume Serial Number was added by Microsoft and IBM so that the operating system could recognize if an optical disk or a drive is changed on the system. By that time the only way to determine this, was the volume label (Volume Name) that the user defined to each storage disk. But that way, there was a problem if a user gave the same (Volume) name to two (or more) disks. To bypass this problem, Microsoft and IBM decided to assign a new unique number in hexadecimal form (called 'Volume Serial Number' or 'Volume ID' or 'VSN') when a drive (optical disk or hard drive) was formatted.
In simple words, the Volume Serial Number indicates the exact time {Date, Month, Year & Time (Hour, Minute & Second)} of format operation. The VSN is changed anytime you format the disk, so if you re-install Windows and you format the system disk, Windows will ask again for activation.
Taking advantage of VSN, some software vendors use the Volume Serial Number to avoid pirate copying of their products. This means that software from these vendors can not run if the Volume Serial Number is different from the VSN of the product's original optical disk that was shipped or of the hard drive that the software was first installed. Also this technique was previously used by multiplayer game vendors to ban the gamers that tried to cheat. Nowadays, this method is useless because the game or software vendors now use the hardcoded serial number (HDD Manufacture's S/N that is embedded into the firmware) to identify (ban) cheaters or they ban the CD key.
In this article you will find detailed instructions on how to change the hard drive's Volume Serial Number (aka Volume ID or VSN).
How to change HDD Volume Serial Number (VolumeID).
Option 1: Using Sysinternals VolumeID changer.
VolumeID by Mark Russinovich, is another freeware tool that helps you to change the Volume IDs of drives from command line window.
1. Download VolumeID.
2. Extract 'volumeid.zip' file contents and move the extracted files ('Volumeid.exe' & 'Eula.txt') to the root of C: drive.
3. Open an elevated command prompt. To do that:
In Windows 7, Vista & XP: 1. Go to Start > All Programs. 2. Click to expand Accessories. 2. Right click on Command Prompt and choose 'Run as administrator'
In Windows 8
Right-click at the screen's bottom-left corner and from the pop-up menu, choose 'Command Prompt (Admin)'.
4. Let's say that we want to change the Volume serial number of the system drive C:.
Inside the command prompt window, type the following command to see the current Volume Serial Number of C: drive
vol
4a. The 'vol' command should return the Volume Serial Number. In this example the VSN is '94F8-9C08'.
![Hard Drive Serial Number Delphi Hard Drive Serial Number Delphi](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126378577/210720484.gif)
– To change the current VSN –
5. Navigate to the root folder of Disk C: (where 'volumeid.exe' is located/saved) and type the following command:
volumeid <driveletter:> xxxx-xxxx
* As <driveletter:> : type the drive of the disk (drive or volume) that we want to change the VSN ('C:').
** As xxxx-xxxx : type the new Volume Serial Number (e.g. 74F8-9C08).
In this example I want to change the VSN of disk C: and I have changed only one character (the first) of the old VSN to specify the new one. So the full command should be:
volumeid c: 74F8-9C08
5. When 'volumeid' command updates the Volume ID of your drive, close the command prompt window and restart your computer.
Option 2: Using Hard Disk Serial Number Changer.
Update: The download link is not working anymore (removed).
The second free tool you can use to change the Volume Serial Number is called Hard Disk Serial Number Changer. The program can change only the HDD's Volume Serial Number and not the Hardcoded Serial Number.
1. Download Hard Disk Serial Number Changer.
2. Right-click at HardDiskSerialNumberChanger.exe & select Run as Administrator.
3. Accept the UAC warning message.
4. Choose the disk that you want to change the Serial Number. (e.g. 'C:').
5. Type the new serial number at this form XXXX-XXXX.
6. Press Change.
7. Click Yes and reboot your computer.
That's it!
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![Hard drive serial numbers Hard drive serial numbers](http://www.marshallsoft.com/wsc_image.gif)
On Windows 10, there could be a lot of reasons you may need to determine specific details (such as serial number, model, firmware version, etc.) about the hard drive on your computer. For instance, when you need to contact technical support to troubleshoot issues or start the process to get a replacement. You're planning to build an array and want to make sure the new drives are the same make and model. Or you're building a detailed inventory of your devices, need to update its firmware, and more.
Of course, a lot of this information you can find it on the label attached to the drive. When the drive is already installed on your computer, you can save a lot of steps and hassles by querying the details you need using the Windows Management Interface Command (wmic) tool with Command Prompt available on Windows 10.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to get information about the hard drives (and removable drives) connected to your device. Additionally, we'll also show you the steps to export the details to text files that you can keep for personal records or send to technical support.
How to check hard drive information using Command Prompt
If you need to find out the hard drive serial number, model, firmware version, and other information, you can use the wmic with Command Prompt.
Basic hard drive info
To determine some basic information about the hard drive installed on your device, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for Command Prompt and click the top result to open the app.
- Type the following command to check the name, brand, model, and serial number information and press Enter:
wmic diskdrive get model,serialNumber,size,mediaType
Source: Windows Central
Once you complete the steps, the command will return the manufacturer, model, serial number, size (bytes), including removable drives like external hard drives and USB flash drives.
You could also add the 'manufacturer' and 'name' options, but they usually don't return any additional information already available with the option specified in the above command.
Advanced hard drive info
If you need more advanced information about the hard drive, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for Command Prompt and click the top result to open the app.
- Type the following command to name, brand, model, and serial number information and press Enter:
wmic diskdrive get model,index,firmwareRevision,status,interfaceType,totalHeads,totalTracks,totalCylinders,totalSectors,partitions
Source: Windows Central
After you complete the steps, the command will output all the information requested formatted in an easy to digest table, including manufacturer, model, serial number, and physical location (port) of all the drives connected to your computer.
Also, you'll be able to determine if any hard drives are reporting hardware problems. The version of the firmware that controls the drive. The type of interface the device is using to connect to the motherboard, as well as the number of partitions and the number of heads, tracks, cylinders, and sectors.
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Although we're showing you the steps to query specific hard drive information, you can edit the command to find out only the details you need.
Here's the full list of available options:
- Availability.
- BytesPerSector.
- Capabilities.
- CapabilityDescriptions.
- Caption.
- CompressionMethod.
- ConfigManagerErrorCode.
- ConfigManagerUserConfig.
- CreationClassName.
- DefaultBlockSize.
- Description.
- DeviceID.
- ErrorCleared.
- ErrorDescription.
- ErrorMethodology.
- FirmwareRevision.
- Index.
- InstallDate.
- InterfaceType.
- LastErrorCode.
- Manufacturer.
- MaxBlockSize.
- MaxMediaSize.
- MediaLoaded.
- MediaType.
- MinBlockSize.
- Model.
- Name.
- NeedsCleaning.
- NumberOfMediaSupported.
- Partitions.
- PNPDeviceID.
- PowerManagementCapabilities.
- PowerManagementSupported.
- SCSIBus.
- SCSILogicalUnit.
- SCSIPort.
- SCSITargetId.
- SectorsPerTrack.
- SerialNumber.
- Signature.
- Size.
- Status.
- StatusInfo.
- SystemCreationClassName.
- SystemName.
- TotalCylinders.
- TotalHeads.
- TotalSectors.
- TotalTracks.
- TracksPerCylinder.
How to export hard drive information to text file using Command Prompt
If you want to export the hard drive details to a text file that you can share easily, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for Command Prompt and click the top result to open the app.
- Type the following command to name, brand, model, and serial number information and press Enter:
wmic diskdrive get model,serialNumber,index,mediaType > C:PATHTOTEXT.TXT
This example exports the hard drive details to the current user's folder:wmic diskdrive get model,serialNumber,index,mediaType > C:Usersuser1Documentshdd-info.txt
Source: Windows Central
Once you complete the steps, the information you specified will export to a text file that you can then send to technical support or keep for your records.
We're focusing this guide on Command Prompt, but you can also use these commands with PowerShell.
More Windows 10 resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:
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