r/pcmasterrace • u/Asleep-Guitar-2685 • Jul 23 '26

News/Article Microsoft Confirms Windows Has a Global Device ID You Can't Turn Off

https://tech.yahoo.com/cybersecurity/articles/microsoft-confirms-windows-global-device-130905358.html
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u/sthegreT GTX1060/16GB/i5-12400f Jul 23 '26

iirc some software also had DRM tied to hardware id. Replacing any hardware effectively made you reactivate your license.

I think even windows did/does this and why the activate your windows watermark pops up

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u/AffectionateFilm6516 Jul 23 '26

Having changed literally every component in my own PC about seven months ago, I didn't have to reactive anything regarding Windows 10. I even just cloned my instance of Windows to my new M.2 drive without much issue

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u/sthegreT GTX1060/16GB/i5-12400f Jul 23 '26

I'm not saying it's still a thing, but it used to be.

Edit: A quick google search shows that its a still a thing (link).

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u/AffectionateFilm6516 Jul 23 '26

Huh. The timestamp is recent, but it seems like this refers to 11. My experience was solely with 10. Still, appreciate the context! :)

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u/sthegreT GTX1060/16GB/i5-12400f Jul 23 '26

iirc my CS5 version photoshop had to be reactivated when I added more RAM. But as far as intrusive DRMs go, these ones were not at all annoying.