[SOLVED] Need to change my HDD's serial number for a game

[SleuthX]

I play a game where I'm banned because it registers my HDD serial number, now the thing is i bought a new PC and i have a new hard drive, but i ran the old hard drive alongside the new hard drive, and when i tried to login to the game it read my old serial number of that old HDD instead of the new HDD, now i removed the old HDD from the PC and it still reads that HDD's old serial number, what do i do?

 

[Colif]

have you tried uninstalling game and reinstalling again, as it shouldn't be able to see a hdd if its not connected. I can only think it recorded it somewhere in its files.

I don't think windows remembers previously installed drives. The bios may but windows may not. File system might have links but I can't see any sign of windows knowing the drive details... apart from when they are attached.

 

[SleuthX]

We are formatting the HDD right now. and yes, we reinstalled the game over and over, no difference. will formatting work? and if it dosen't, what do we do to overwrite the old HDD's serial with the new one?

 

[Colif]

what game is it?

Discord not best place to work out problems

some of these might help - https://www.raymond.cc/blog/changing-or-spoofing-hard-disk-hardware-serial-number-and-volume-id/

 

[SleuthX]

It's MTA SA (Multi Theft Auto San Andreas), a modification of GTA SA that makes it available for people to play online. there are many servers there and my friend is banned in a server that we both play in. the ban is not IP-related, but it is determined by the serial number of the hard drive. the MTA program itself registers my friend's serial number for the old hard drive, not just the server he plays in. the whole program only sees the old HDD's serial for some reason.

EDIT: also, he mentions that he has an M.2 with Windows installed on it, if that changes anything.

 

[Colif]

it seems if you reinstall game you should get a new serial number - https://forum.mtasa.com/topic/48698-mta-serial-system/

 

[SleuthX]

But is there a way to to change the serial via the bios if it's related like you said?

 

[Colif]

I think BIOS only knows the details of the drive if its currently installed or if it was in boot order.
If anything, it would know the GUID of the hdd if its formatted as GPT.
GPT = GUID Partition Table
GUID = Global Unique ID = Every GPT drive on earth has a unique ID

If the program records that info, I don't think you can change it as it is hardcoded.
If drive is not in PC - you could possibly make bios forget it if the drive shows in boot order. But if its just a storage drive, I don't think its recorded in BIOS anywhere

I see references to changing serial number in firmware of the hdd , but i can't find anything specific. I think its hardcoded into controller on the drive. https://www.makeuseof.com/how-can-i-change-a-hard-drive-serial-number/
this can change the hdd serial number and survive a format of the drive - https://hard-disk-serial-number-changer.en.softonic.com/

 

[Deleted member 14196]

From the sounds of it it’s more than just the serial on the hard drive. There are other identification factors they are probably using, and if you’ve been banned go play something else. They don’t ban people without a good reason. Behave yourself and stop cheating online and maybe you won’t get banned

 

[USAFRet]

I play a game where I'm banned

And we're done here.

We cannot assist with getting around a "ban" by some other entity.

Closing this.