New motherboard

July 27, 2007

i want to upgrade my motherboard and have been told that if i so do and iboot

up then windows XP will stop working and i will have to buy a new version of

XP and have to start from scratch again !!

Apart from asuming this is to make Bill Gates the richest

person in the known universe is it true

--

niall

July 27, 2007

Re: New motherboard

oisin <oisin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>i want to upgrade my motherboard and have been told that if i so do and iboot

>up then windows XP will stop working and i will have to buy a new version of

>XP and have to start from scratch again !!

Yes, Windows will stop working - because a lot of the hardware will

have changed, and it will require new drivers.

Is your computer a "brand name" computer?

Did it come with it's own version of Windows XP, or did you

upgrade/install Windows XP yourself?

If the former, you could be in deep doo-doo.

More info is needed.

July 27, 2007

Re: New motherboard

On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:12:04 -0700, oisin

<oisin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> i want to upgrade my motherboard and have been told that if i so do and iboot

> up then windows XP will stop working and i will have to buy a new version of

> XP and have to start from scratch again !!

Is yours a retail copy of Windows or an OEM copy? If it's a retail

copy, no problem; you've been told wrong. You can replace all the

hardware you want, and even move Windows to an entirely different

computer.

With an OEM copy, it's a can of worms, as far as I'm concerned. The

OEM EULA states that the license is valid only for the original

computer it's installed on, and it may never be moved to another.

The problem is that the Microsoft OEM EULA does not precisely define

exactly what constitutes the "computer." Some people claim that the

motherboard constitutes the computer. However logical that might seem,

the EULA does not state that, and the EULA is the document that

defines the rights of both parties to the agreement.

Some of those people point to a web site for System Builders, where

Microsoft defines the computer as the motherboard. However it's not

what it says on some web site that defines the customer's rights, it's

the EULA; besides, that web site is not even available to the general

public. I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is that if it ever came to a

court case and someone cited that web site, he'd be laughed out of

court.

So, can you replace a motherboard, consider the result the same

computer, and reuse your OEM copy of Windows? Regardless of what I

think, you think, or anyone else thinks, or even what a court might

rule if it came to that, the real issue is whether Microsoft will

permit you to reactivate if you do. Unfortunately the answer is again

not clear-cut, and we have heard here from people who have had both

experiences--some were reactivated and others were not. If they refuse

to reactivate you and you take them to court, you might win, but who

of us would be willing to undergo that trouble and expense to find

out?

So the answer, with an OEM version, is that there is no real answer.

--

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User

Please Reply to the Newsgroup

July 28, 2007

Re: New motherboard

What is the make and model of your computer? Who did you buy it from? Do you

have a standard Windows CD with the hologram, etc., or is it a Restore CD or

partition?

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

http://www.grystmill.com

"oisin" <oisin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:B90B0F99-1D0E-4199-9038-1FF350381653@microsoft.com...

>i want to upgrade my motherboard and have been told that if i so do and

>iboot

> up then windows XP will stop working and i will have to buy a new version

> of

> XP and have to start from scratch again !!

> Apart from asuming this is to make Bill Gates the richest

> person in the known universe is it true

> --

> niall

July 28, 2007

Re: New motherboard

You can call microsoft and obtain a new number! I have done this many

times.................................................

"Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.am.invalid.domain> wrote in message

news:jfska39aj97il0b25blhdhq389p4rgngij@4ax.com...

> On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:12:04 -0700, oisin

> <oisin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>

>> i want to upgrade my motherboard and have been told that if i so do and

>> iboot

>> up then windows XP will stop working and i will have to buy a new

>> version of

>> XP and have to start from scratch again !!

>

> Is yours a retail copy of Windows or an OEM copy? If it's a retail

> copy, no problem; you've been told wrong. You can replace all the

> hardware you want, and even move Windows to an entirely different

> computer.

>

> With an OEM copy, it's a can of worms, as far as I'm concerned. The

> OEM EULA states that the license is valid only for the original

> computer it's installed on, and it may never be moved to another.

>

> The problem is that the Microsoft OEM EULA does not precisely define

> exactly what constitutes the "computer." Some people claim that the

> motherboard constitutes the computer. However logical that might seem,

> the EULA does not state that, and the EULA is the document that

> defines the rights of both parties to the agreement.

>

> Some of those people point to a web site for System Builders, where

> Microsoft defines the computer as the motherboard. However it's not

> what it says on some web site that defines the customer's rights, it's

> the EULA; besides, that web site is not even available to the general

> public. I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is that if it ever came to a

> court case and someone cited that web site, he'd be laughed out of

> court.

>

> So, can you replace a motherboard, consider the result the same

> computer, and reuse your OEM copy of Windows? Regardless of what I

> think, you think, or anyone else thinks, or even what a court might

> rule if it came to that, the real issue is whether Microsoft will

> permit you to reactivate if you do. Unfortunately the answer is again

> not clear-cut, and we have heard here from people who have had both

> experiences--some were reactivated and others were not. If they refuse

> to reactivate you and you take them to court, you might win, but who

> of us would be willing to undergo that trouble and expense to find

> out?

>

> So the answer, with an OEM version, is that there is no real answer.

>

> --

> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User

> Please Reply to the Newsgroup

July 28, 2007

Re: New motherboard

oisin wrote:

> i want to upgrade my motherboard and have been told that if i so do and iboot

> up then windows XP will stop working ....

Probably.

> .... and i will have to buy a new version of

> XP and have to start from scratch again !!

Only if you have a BIOS-locked OEM Recovery or Installation CD and

obtain the replacement motherboard from someone other than the computer

manufacturer.

> Apart from asuming this is to make Bill Gates the richest

> person in the known universe is it true

No, it's primarily a technical issue.

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM

installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore are

*not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting),

unless the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same

IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP

installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair

(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with

licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.

You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If

you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a

Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style

foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,

is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any

old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it

"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the

reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable

than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any

important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a

Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more than

120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most

likely be able to activate via the Internet without problem. If it's

been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone call.

--

Bruce Chambers

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July 28, 2007