[CentOS] Re: Hardware serial number access from (a) command(s)

[Lanny Marcus]

On Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 11:43 AM, Scott Silva <ssilva at sgvwater.com> wrote:
> on 7-28-2008 6:26 PM Lanny Marcus spake the following:
<snip>
>>>>
>>>> Mark: Try that! On my Desktop, it gives me the SN for the HD (hda),
>>>> but the space for
>>>> SN is blank, for hdc (DVD reader) and hdd (CD-RW). . If you are lucky,
>>>> on your box, it will give you the SN for the DVD
>>>> burner. Lanny
>>>
>>> I don't think most optical drive manufacturers embed serial numbers in
>>> their
>>> drives. Hard drives are different, as their testing process lets them
>>> change
>>> something like a serial number, but an optical drive would require a
>>> custom
>>> firmware to be created and then loaded to the drive. That would slow the
>>> process.
>>
>> That probably explains why when I tried it, there were no serial numbers
>> for my
>> opticlal drives. I always see an SN for a HD, when running diagnostics on
>> them.
>> Sounds like Mark is going to need to pull the bad DVD burner anyway, so
>> when he
>> does, he can read the SN on the label and get an RMA for it.
>
> I would have tried also, because now the system needs to come apart twice
> unless you just buy a new one and let the replacement be a spare.

Mark: Scott has the right plan for you. Buy a new drive and install
it, when you take out the defective one.
Send the defective drive in on an RMA and they will probably replace
it with a remanufactured drive and you keep
that one available as a spare or install it in another box.. If your
box is like 3 of ours, it is a PITA to R&R a 5.25" drive. We have 2
Dell Dimensions that are very easy to open (that's the idea, if it
works). Dell Latin America replaced one of them, after I got it,
because I could not open it. It took two (2) of their Tech Support
people, to get the thing open, so I asked for a new one. Plastic
cases...... Lanny