I'm saying that usually hardware has some unique identifier - whether a serial number or what not - that allows an operating system to distinguish it.
For example, this is how the Microsoft WindowsXP activation works to disable pirating and warez. Your operating system takes a snapshot, so to say, of the unique identification of all your hardware, and then sends that information to Microsoft when you register your operating system.
You can have two exact duplicate systems - same exact hardware, manufactuer, etc. etc. but Microsoft still knows it's two different computers due to their individual hardware identifiers ... which is basically just Microsoft data mining.
Microsoft allows you to change three pieces of hardware in your system before it considers it pirating. In fact, Microsoft knows what hardware you have and what you change/upgrade/etc.
But of course they're not doing anything morally wrong. Oh, no, of course not ...
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