Can I continue to use Windows XP OEM if I change only the motherboard in my computer?

Anonymous
2011-07-03T05:14:22+00:00

I am running Windows XP Home OEM on my computer.

I still have the original disk and key, and the COA is attached to the case of the computer, as required.

If I only change the motherboard, and retain the existing harddrive (with the original Windows XP home installed on it), will Windows XP Home OEM continue to work?

Is there any special procedure required, or will it just work?

If not, can it be reactivated? If not, do I have to buy a new copy of Windows XP and activate with the new key?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Install and upgrade

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Anonymous
2011-07-03T14:26:09+00:00

It's actually in the OEM License rather the EULA.

http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/pages/licensing_faq.aspx

<quote>

Q. Can a PC with an OEM Windows operating system have its motherboard upgraded and keep the same license? What if it was replaced because it was defective?

A. Generally, an end user can upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on a computer—except the motherboard—and still retain the license for the original Microsoft OEM operating system software. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created. Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred to the new computer, and the license of new operating system software is required. If the motherboard is replaced because it is defective, you do not need to acquire a new operating system license for the PC as long as the replacement motherboard is the same make/model or the same manufacturer's replacement/equivalent, as defined by the manufacturer's warranty.

The reason for this licensing rule primarily relates to the End User Software License Terms and the support of the software covered by that End User Software License Terms. The End User Software License Terms is a set of usage rights granted to the end user by the PC manufacturer and relates only to rights for that software as installed on that particular PC. The system builder is required to support the software on the original PC. Understanding that end users, over time, upgrade their PCs with different components, Microsoft needed to have one base component "left standing" that would still define the original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the "heart and soul" of the PC, when the motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created. The original system builder did not manufacture this new PC, and therefore cannot be expected to support it.

</quote>

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-07-04T23:36:05+00:00

    That was never in dispute; you will get no disagreement from me at all on that point.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-07-05T07:25:04+00:00

    Unfortunately, the licensing terms for OEM's are quite specific - the machines MUST be sold to a third party, and cannot be used by the manufacturer, so technically, you're already in breach of the licensing terms.

    http://www.microsoft.com/OEM/en/licensing/sblicensing/pages/licensing_for_hobbyists.aspx

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-07-05T09:28:05+00:00

    Noel

    I wonder how many cases there have been where Microsoft have enforced that condition.

    If Microsoft wanted to enforce it then enforcement against the distributor who sold the copy of Windows to the self builder might be a more effective measure? However, the distributor only has to say the purchaser told me he / she intended to build a computer to sell on to a friend. The self builder then says my friend failed to come up with the cash to pay for the computer. I am looking for someone to buy the computer. If Microsoft starts enquiries the self buiilder advertises the computer for sale and sells it and fulfills the condition.

    The regime since Windows XP has changed. Changes have been made to the role played by the Distributor.

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-07-05T10:37:52+00:00

    As far as I know, it's never been enforced yet - but that doesn't mean that it's OK.

    The old 'method of enforcement' was to insist that OEM SB packs were sold only with hardware - but that got silly, with people buying a screw to go with their pack :)

    Changes to the EULA/SLT get made all the time, and some are pretty subtle and/or esoteric. The current insistance on using the OPK to install OEM systems is in my mind a stupid and unenforceable one - and totally uneconomic for the small custom-builder, as it adds significantly to the build time for one-offs (although it becomes economic very quickly - I reckon at about 3 installs on similar hardware)

    The rules about motherboards haven't changed substantially since Windows first came out, but it's only since Activation was introduced with XP that it's been possible to enforce it in any meaningful way.

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