Re: Seeking upgrade advise for motherboard change with oem windows

original question was i need to upgrade my motherboard but i only have an oem
version of windows, oem supplier has since gone bankrupt so no back up. The
only disc that came with pc was a reload/back up cd not a disc that allows
you to repair windows on an upgrade. What will i need o/s wise to do the
upgrade ?

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

Welsh Wizard wrote:

So seeing i have oem xp, are you saying i would only need a retail
upgrade of xp in order to complete my motherboard upgrade ?


I can't remember your original question. Do you want to do a clean
installation of Windows after the motherboard change, or are you trying to
stick with the existing installation and do a repair installation (which you
may or may not be able to do)?

If you are willing to reinstall Windows cleanly, yes, all you need is an XP
Upgrade CD (and a previous version's CD).


i dont
have any windows installation discs, not even 98


As I said, Windows 98 CDs are usually very cheap on eBay or other used
sources.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup




"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

Welsh Wizard wrote:

KEN- thanks for your frankness,


You're welcome. Glad to help.


it really shows what a grey area this
is, the microsoft knowledgebase site were insistant that mobo and
o/s were tied, if it was an oem version of xp and the mobo was
replaced then a new version of xp would be needed - hence the
advantage of owning a full retail version in case of needing to
upgrade.


My personal recommendation is the Retail Upgrade version, not the
Full one. Both the Full and Upgrade versions can do either a clean
installation or an upgrade. The only difference between the two is
that to do a clean intsallation with the Upgrade version requires
that you insert a CD of a previous qualifying version as proof of
ownership, when prompted to do so. Most people have a CD of Windows
98 around, but if you don't, you can buy one inexpensively on eBay.

So the combination of an XP Upgrade CD and a Windows 98 CD is the
equivalent of a Full XP CD, but costs much less

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



The mobo
however if it was faulty, could be changed with oem xp, as has
happened to me 2 yrs after i bought it, and strangely enough the pc
seems to be showing similar tendancies to restart itself like it did
back then ! The pc was sent away to the now bankrupt manufacturer
and came back with mobo replaced and a different windows id and
product code! It looks like i am stumped though without a repair
disc that you get with the retail version unless its possible to
leave windows to detect the changes on startup and sort them all
out but it seems unlikeley

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

Welsh Wizard wrote:

The operating system is an OEM version of windows xp home saved
on a hard disc partition i believe, and i have a reload/backup cd
for it.

I wanted to stay with an MSI "a" socket motherboard like my
current one, and i have bought one in readyness but am now
worried that i am not in a position to do an upgrade due to
microsoft rules over oem xp, or that i may have difficulties with
product keys etc


The issue of OEM licenses and what constitutes the same computer is
a can of worms. The EULA doesn't specify what constitutes the same
computer, and the EULA is what you agree to. If I had my druthers,
all licenses would be the same, with the retail rules, and there
wouldn't be such a thing as an OEM license.

There are people here (and elsewhere) who claim that if you change
the motherboard, it's a different computer. Although that certainly
sounds logical, the OEM EULA does *not* say that. Some of these
people will point to a Microsoft site for System Builders (one that
can't even be accessed by the general public) that states that
changing the motherboard makes it a different computer. Again, the
EULA, which is what you agree to, does *not* state that, so as far
as I'm concerned, what this site states is irrelevant.

My guess is that if it ever came before a court (which is highly
unlikely) and Microsoft ever pointed to that web site, they'd be
laughed out of court.

The real issue in my mind is what happens if you change the
motherboard and have to reactivate an OEM version over the phone.
If you talk to a Microsoft representative and he defends the
"motherboard defines the computer" point of view and won't activate
you, you're out of luck unless you want to take Microsoft to court
(which is probably highly unlikely).

My own view is that you might be able to successfully argue in
court that, silly as it may sound, the computer is defined by the
case, since that's where Microsoft requires that the product key
sticker be affixed. You could therefore change everything inside
the case, and it would still be the same computer.

However, don't rely on that last paragraph unless you're willing to
go to court over it. I wouldn't be.

So what should you do? It's hard to advise you. You may be able to
change the motherboard and reactivate or you may not.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



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