[Taristin]

I just built my computer and installed vista on it. My HDD isnt locked by default.

[ChronoReverse]

So if I were to build a new rig and load it with Vista, I wouldn't need to worry much about the locked-up hard disk when xferring it to another computer?

I consider myself an average user... either way I'm still against all this crap.

There's nothing to worry about that wasn't there in Win2k.  You might have to take ownership of some folders, but that's it.

[SadisticSid]

There's been selective *software* encryption available since 2000 (possibly NT4 although I'm not sure). That's still available in Vista AFAIK, but there's also the BitLocker hardware encryption support which is non-selective and presumably doesn't impact performance because it has a dedicated module to encode/decode.

[Nuke]

There's been selective *software* encryption available since 2000 (possibly NT4 although I'm not sure). That's still available in Vista AFAIK, but there's also the BitLocker hardware encryption support which is non-selective and presumably doesn't impact performance because it has a dedicated module to encode/decode.

ok, i was just under the impression that microsoft was selling an old feature under a new name. im still skeptical about it, its most likely just a minor upgrade to the old code.

[Taristin]

To what? It's new. It's hardware based, as opposed to software based. A chip, called a TPM must be on the motherboard for it to work, and the HDDs need to be partitioned in a special way as well. It's different than software encryption, and it'sdisabled by default.

[asyikarea51]

  of minor relief

TBH, stuff such as this has been the reason why I've been skeptical about going for a new console or building a new computer (the latter is getting vital, I'm still on an old AGP board although the parts are only 2 years old). Things like dynamic adverts, DRM, extra payment for add-ons even after you've paid $50 for the initial product et cetra...

...which in turn is related to me playing at the arcades instead of a decent and long-lasting PC game. I might be spending more, but if all this continues in the long term, I think the home gamer will have to shell out more too, so maybe the difference in expenditures might not be much by then.

Might just be me and my thoughts though... sorry if I went OFT by mistake.

[Freespace Freak]

Ain't no way in hell to make this system foolproof.  As someone said, if you can see it and hear it, it can be recorded.  If you want cross-platform and hardware and software compatibility, then there's no way to make the system air-tight.