MacPro and PCI

[philhoole]

Hi,

Does anyone know if the MacPro has any standard PCI slots or are they all PCI Express ? I think I know the answer

This could be a deal breaker for me as I have a PCI network card that I need to be able to access from the Windows/Bootcamp side - I have some software license(s) that are tied to the Mac address of the card and it is easier said than done to convince the software company to transfer the license (to the onboard network card). They basically treat you like a thief ! But that's another story...

Thanks

 

[philhoole]

Could just change the mac address of the card?

Apple say 3x PCI-E slots only.

I would need to change the MAC address of the NIC on the MacPro motherboard to be the same as the NIC I currently use on the PCI card. Is that possible ?

I'm not ready to take a £2000 gamble just to find that it can't be done. This is a real shame if there's no way around it.

 

[philhoole]

it can be done, all just a google away...

I know you can "spoof" tcp packets to make them look like they come from a particular MAC address but do they actually change the cards MAC ?

I suspect the software I use looks at the hardware level to read the MAC.

What I would be trying to do technically I suppose is bypass software protection although I already hold a genuine license to this software. It's just the last time I requested a license transfer to this company I had to almost beg them and embarrass them on their own forum.

Another option is I can leave the current NIC in a Windows PC networked to the MacPro and it will act as a license server. That will work.