Uniquely identify a Computer by it's hardware profile (GetCurrentHwProfile)

Using the GetCurrentHwProfile , we can retrieve the szHwProfileGuid, which is the hardware profile GUID of the machine, i suppose.

what is exactly a hardware profile and how is it editable? is the Hardware profile GUID unique by machine? Is the value stored somewhere in the registry and is it updatabl开发者_如何学Ce? If it is not unique, when exactly does this value change?

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Yes, it is just an accessor to the registry key

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\IDConfigDB\Hardware Profiles

And as someone discovered none of the following affects it: changing Primary HD, adding a second HD, re-Installing or upgrading the OS, replacing video cards, or changing user. Changing network card would surely affect it, as it is involved in the creation of any GUID.

My guess is it was just a way to tell whether a laptop is docked, that was designed as a base for accessing a broader range hardware changes - but that never really took place. 'Hardware profile' would probably stay a vague term forever, in this API context.