Recover Disk signature vs NTFS Volume Serial Number
OK folks, let's try to clear up the muddy water here.
Is the "disk signature" the same as the NTFS Volume Serial Number?
Can someone confirm this?
If so, and I think it is, then yes you might want to click on the Recover Disk Signature so it will copy the NTFS Volume Serial Number ( which I'll refer to as the VolumeID) to the new disk. My past uses of TI confirm that when I checked the block, the VolumeId copied over to the restore disk, but if TI is doing something more, ?I'm not aware of it.
The VolumeID is an 8 digit hex number where the first part of it is the date / time and the last 4 who know what and who cares. It's supposed to be a unique # in any particular system. There are supposed to be no two HDDs in the system with the same VolumeID.
Why would you want to recover it?
Some applications, MS Office, maybe windows itself, Roxio, Acronis itself, and probably a whole lot more record the VolumeId when you install their stuff and if the number is changed, then it complains, sometimes to the level of not allowing you to run the application any longer. so if you plan to use any of these applications then recover it.
Why would you not want to recover it?
Good question, if you plan to have the original HDD and this new HDD in the same system at the same time, windows might barf. That's the only reason I can think of.
What if you need to recover it and you didn't?
Yeah, I just did this on 2 or 3 machines. Didn't even notice the mistake until I was recovering to a 4th system and saw it at the bottom. Not to worry, There is an undocumented command line in winblows that lets you change it. The Command is VOLUMEID. Just run it with no parameters to see how to use it. You must reboot afterwards for the change to take effect.
