Deauthorizing a computer

[Brian Thorpe]

If you clone a drive for backup purposes and you have to switch to the 
backup drive for all your needs, but you didn't deauthorize the "now 
unused" hard drive, the unused hard drive still counts as on authorized 
computer, right?

I also take it that there is absolutely no way to deauthorize a 
computer without actually connecting that computer to the internet and 
issuing the command.

I had planned to erase and re-format the unused drive. It has a volume 
for OS and apps, and a volume for data storage. The OS partition must 
be cloned from the currently used drive, then I must boot up from the 
old one and upon starting iTune, I must de-authorize it and then 
proceed with my plans to erase it.  Otherwise it will always be listed 
on Apple's server as an authorized unit.

That's a real pain in the butt. I'd think that a better solution might 
be to have a command that allowed you to de-authorize all currently 
authorized computers for a specific account. That would require all 
computers using iTunes to check with the iTunes Music Store whenever 
they are connect to the internet.

This situation kind of pushes me in the direction of burning audio CDs 
of all my purchased music and then ripping it back to AAC unprotected 
or MP3 format.

Thanks for any advise you can offer.

brian