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SOLVED MoBo Swap. Do i have to buy win7 again?

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J

JGarcia

Member
​
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Location
Buna, TX.
Hi I bought a Asus CG5720 BP0004 last year at Best Buy.

I have been slowly upgrading it. I want to now replace the MoBo.

I have my original Hard Drive with my licensed copy of Win 7 on it and have the CD key on the side of my case.

Will i be able to just swap my mother board and still used my Win 7?

My current MoBo

Asus PQ5L- VM EPU

I am upgrading to

ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo

Where do i go from here?
 
If it works automatically it depends on an algorithm MS uses to generate a unique hash for your machine. If enough items change since it was installed, then windows will start to complain.

Worst case if it complains about licensing, you can call MS and they will resolve the issue once you tell them that you are just upgrading certain components.

This also depends on your version. A long winded but accurate reply can be found here, which I skimmed and it lines up correctly to what I'd expect with licensing information I've read in the past:

http://social.answers.microsoft.com...l/thread/58a41f6c-d97c-430d-9c7d-db1c40a2ac43
 
Thanks for the quick response IMOG! The only change i am making is the Mo Bo i am keeping my Ram and the Processor. So if have an issue then i should be able to call MS and tell them i cracked my MoBo while installing my video card (cough cough). So i bought another one. ;)
 
As I stated in your other thread the OEM license is tied to your motherboard. Technically you'd be breaking the EULA
 
Trap05 said:
As I stated in your other thread the OEM license is tied to your motherboard. Technically you'd be breaking the EULA
Click to expand...

Yea thanks man! I just felt i was derailing my own thread over there. I was just looking for some other opinions. It seems there are alto of mixed feelings over this. I am going to see when i get home if mine is OEM. I think i have a disk but i think it was provided by ASUS. I am going to check my CD key when i get home to see if its OEM.

Because Microsoft says you can replace the motherboard on one page and the OEM EULA doesn't say otherwise, you should be able to replace the motherboard. However, if your Windows install disk is from a computer manufacturer the disk might be locked to the motherboards BIOS which would prevent you from being able to install Windows on a motherboard not made by that computer manufacturer. Also, OEM copies are bound to the first computer installed on and are not transferable (can't be moved to a different computer).
Click to expand...
 
Once you buy a disc, as long as it is used on one mobo only, MS doesn't care.
Worked in XP, not sure what MS will have to say now.
 
habbajabba said:
Once you buy a disc, as long as it is used on one mobo only, MS doesn't care.
Worked in XP, not sure what MS will have to say now.
Click to expand...

If you read the thread though you'd see he didn't buy a disk and it came preinstalled and he has a recovery partition and perhaps recovery DVDs not an actual OS DVD. Hence his question and our responses
 
Yes my cd key is OEM. :( There has to be other options. I dont think i can afford a new MoBo and then buy Win7 again.
 
There are other options, and in my experience Microsoft is happy to offer them to you if you just ask nicely and explain your dilemma. They'd rather someone call them and be honest then cut them a deal than someone be dishonest and use an illegal copy.
 
I.M.O.G. said:
There are other options, and in my experience Microsoft is happy to offer them to you if you just ask nicely and explain your dilemma. They'd rather someone call them and be honest then cut them a deal than someone be dishonest and use an illegal copy.
Click to expand...
( There was a dumb idea here )
 
Last edited:
No, because that'd be unethical and unnecessary. Be honest, tell them you are upgrading your motherboard, explain you have a valid installation of windows currently, and you are concerned that after the upgrade your copy of windows will no longer work. Ask what they can do for you, and you may find doing the right thing can work out pretty well.

This site has a pretty strict ruleset on ethics and honesty. Lieing complicates situations unnecessarily. We usually remove classifieds access for anyone suggesting or implying anything dishonest, because it avoids possible problems for our members down the road when they try to trade hardware here. Its easy to send someone a dead board, then accuse them of killing it after they've paid you and they've received the hardware.

I went through the pain of running linux, primarily to avoid the pain of dealing with "genuine MS software", activation, licensing, etc. Once through the learning curve, I've found linux to make a lot more sense in the way its designed and the way it operates.

If you make a choice to stick with microsoft software, thats also a choice to play by the crappy rules they give you.
 
Last edited:
I.M.O.G. said:
No, because that'd be unethical and unnecessary. Be honest, tell them you are upgrading your motherboard, explain you have a valid installation of windows currently, and you are concerned that after the upgrade your copy of windows will no longer work. Ask what they can do for you, and you may find doing the right thing can work out pretty well.

This site has a pretty strict ruleset on ethics and honesty. Lieing complicates situations unnecessarily. We usually remove classifieds access for anyone suggesting or implying anything dishonest, because it avoids possible problems for our members down the road when they try to trade hardware here. Its easy to send someone a dead board, then accuse them of killing it after they've paid you and they've received the hardware.

I went through the pain of running linux, primarily to avoid the pain of dealing with "genuine MS software", activation, licensing, etc. Once through the learning curve, I've found linux to make a lot more sense in the way its designed and the way it operates.

If you make a choice to stick with microsoft software, thats also a choice to play by the crappy rules they give you.
Click to expand...

Good Call! :thup:

We usually remove classifieds access for anyone suggesting or implying anything dishonest, because it avoids possible problems for our members down the road when they try to trade hardware here.
Click to expand...

I hope this does not happen for me as i just learned about the ads today from muddocktor or whatever his name is. Sorry.
 
I had a Dell with the OS installed on the hd, it died. I was able to salvage the hd and cd-rom drive and that was about it (ps went south and took most of the system with it). When I booted up the new system the OS complained and said I needed to make the phone call in order to activate the OS and that I had 30 days I believe it was to do it in. I had nothing to lose so I made the call and explained to them that the system died on me and what I did, She explained to me that MS would give me ONE more key code because it was a OEM license that came with the Dell and that it would be tied to that system and if I had any more issues that I would have to buy a new key. Moral of the story make the call you have nothing to lose :shrug:

I have tried Linux several times and REALLY wish I could get the hang of it, I don't game myself much so there is no real loss there but my wife and son both like to game and unfortunately using MS is easier than trying to figure out how to get Linux to work with games.
 
Last edited:
I have no idea how 7 behaves, but with XP/Vista I've upgraded Dells that reused nothing but the harddrives (sometimes not even that) and had no problems activating. Didn't even have to call MS.

I would just do a fresh install and try to activate it. If it gives you problems, then call MS and explain what happened. Be sure they know it's only on one machine and they'll probably have no problems helping you activate it.
 
Trap05 said:
As I stated in your other thread the OEM license is tied to your motherboard. Technically you'd be breaking the EULA
Click to expand...

The license actually uses the term "computer" not "motherboard", so he will not be breaking the EULA.

TheGame240 said:
I have no idea how 7 behaves, but with XP/Vista I've upgraded Dells that reused nothing but the harddrives (sometimes not even that) and had no problems activating. Didn't even have to call MS.

I would just do a fresh install and try to activate it. If it gives you problems, then call MS and explain what happened. Be sure they know it's only on one machine and they'll probably have no problems helping you activate it.
Click to expand...

This is good advice. I've had a motherboard die and been replaced in Dell machine with a Dell branded OEM install before and replacing the motherboard didn't trigger reactivation. I've also had an Abit motherboard die in a custom job with a generic OEM install and I replaced it with an Asus board and it didn't trigger reactivation either (or if it did it happened automatically over the internet and I didn't notice).
 
DaveHCYJ said:
The license actually uses the term "computer" not "motherboard", so he will not be breaking the EULA.
Click to expand...

He is breaking the EULA. he is upgrading, not replacing due to motherboard malfunction.

To be within the EULA and if you're changing hardware. You must meet the following criteria:

-Must use the same case the OEM COA sticker is attached to.
-You can only replace the board if it is faulty, not if you're upgrading.

If you meet both, then you are within the EULA boundaries. If only one, then you're breaking it.

What the OP is doing is in gray area. so as long as he knows what he's doing, MS is none the wiser.


also, going from that p5ql-vm to that p5q pro is no major change. They are the same chipset, although the 'pro' version might have onboard RAID, so it uses a different southbridge. So as long as the OS is originally installed using basic ATA drivers with no AHCI or RAID, then the OS should come up without a problem.
 
Thanks for the input guys. The new board is in the mail. Fingers crossed that its not a big issue. I will be back here soon to let yall kno!
 
Gimme a break. Just because you buy a preinstalled setup doesn't mean you can't change hardware. I could care less what the specifics of the eula state.
 
Rules are rules some people choose to follow them and and others ignore them
 
habbajabba said:
Gimme a break. Just because you buy a preinstalled setup doesn't mean you can't change hardware. I could care less what the specifics of the eula state.
Click to expand...


I.M.O.G. said:
No, because that'd be unethical and unnecessary. Be honest, tell them you are upgrading your motherboard, explain you have a valid installation of windows currently, and you are concerned that after the upgrade your copy of windows will no longer work. Ask what they can do for you, and you may find doing the right thing can work out pretty well.

This site has a pretty strict ruleset on ethics and honesty. Lieing complicates situations unnecessarily. We usually remove classifieds access for anyone suggesting or implying anything dishonest, because it avoids possible problems for our members down the road when they try to trade hardware here. Its easy to send someone a dead board, then accuse them of killing it after they've paid you and they've received the hardware.

I went through the pain of running linux, primarily to avoid the pain of dealing with "genuine MS software", activation, licensing, etc. Once through the learning curve, I've found linux to make a lot more sense in the way its designed and the way it operates.

If you make a choice to stick with microsoft software, thats also a choice to play by the crappy rules they give you.
Click to expand...

Dont make the same mistake i did habbajabba.
 
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