Problem with Win32_PhysicalMedia SerialNumber property
I wrote the following code to get the serial number of a physical media, but one of my computers returns null instead. Does anyone know what the problem is? Thank.
var searcher = new ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_PhysicalMedia");
foreach( ManagementObject mo in searcher.Get() )
{
Console.WriteLine("Serial: {0}", mo["SerialNumber"]);
}
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The serial number is optional, determined by the manufacturer, and for your device it is either empty or not supported by the driver.
Almost all hard drives have a serial number, but most USB-style flash drives do not (usually a cost issue). I would guess that most of the unrepeatable CD / DVD / BDs will be unserialized as well.
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Here is the code I used, the serial number is somehow returned raw with every pair of characters canceled (weird) and using Win32_PhysicalMedia gives different results if I run the code as a user or administrator (weirder) - Windows 7 Ultimate, VS 2008 using VB only:
Function GetHDSerial() As String
Dim strHDSerial As String = String.Empty
Dim index As Integer = 0
Dim Data As String
Dim Data2 As String
Dim ndx As Integer
Dim query As New SelectQuery("Win32_DiskDrive")
Dim search As New ManagementObjectSearcher(query)
Dim info As ManagementObject
Try
For Each info In search.Get()
Data = info("SerialNumber")
Data2 = ""
For ndx = 1 To Data.Length - 1 Step 2
Data2 = Data2 & Chr(Val("&H" & Mid(Data, ndx, 2)))
Next ndx
Data = String.Empty
For ndx = 1 To Data2.Length - 1 Step 2
Data = Data & Mid(Data2, ndx + 1, 1) & Mid(Data2, ndx, 1)
Next
Data2 = Data
If Len(Data) < 8 Then Data2 = "00000000" 'some drives have no s/n
Data2 = Replace(Data2, " ", "") ' some drives pad spaces in the s/n
'forget removeable drives
If InStr(info("MediaType").ToString, "Fixed", CompareMethod.Text) > 0 Then
strHDSerial = strHDSerial & "Drive " & index.ToString & " SN: " & Data2 & vbCrLf
index += 1
End If
Next
Catch ex As Exception
strHDSerial = "Error retrieving SN for Drive "
msgbox(index.ToString)
End Try
Return strHDSerial
End Function
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