Computer system with disk drive having private key validation means for enabling features

摘要

A computer system having a host computer is connected to a disk drive for providing a key to enable a feature controlled by the disk drive. The disk drive validates the key using private validation means which are accessed by a disk drive microprocessor. The validation means include drive-dependent identification means which are used to derive a seed for generating an internal key to validate the key provided by the host computer. An exemplary feature enabled by the key validation is an expansion area of the disk drive which is enabled to provide extended user data storage without requiring internal physical access by the user.