Deterring theft and unauthorized use of electronic devices through the use of counters and private code

Abstract

A system and method are provided for reducing a potential thief's motivation to steal an electronic device, by rendering the device inoperative at some time after it is stolen. The mechanism used to deter theft may include a modified primary integrated circuit chip in the electronic device, such as the central processing unit (CPU), a memory controller chip, or a primary input/output (I/O) chip. The chip may be important enough to the normal operation of the electronic device such that without normal operation of the chip, the electronic device also would not operate normally, thus rendering the electronic device partially or fully disabled. A 'recharger' device may be used to recharge, or reset the operability of the chip.