OS questions (replacing motherboard)

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Sileste

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Jun 14, 2013
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I'm getting a new motherboard soon and this PC I have now was given to me with a collection of window 7 ultimate CDs. But I think no matter what I will need to buy windows 7 again probably. I'm not sure what the current motherboard I have is, I just know it's made by gigabyte. I really don't want to buy windows 7 ultimate because it's way more expensive, so was wondering can I get home/professional instead? Or can I just upgrade to windows 8.1? If I do go to 8.1, should I upgrade now or after I switch boards? Thanks. :)

Speccy shows my current mobo as...

Code: 
Manufacturer	Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Model	GA-78LMT-S2P (Socket M2)
Chipset Vendor	AMD
Chipset Model	780G
Chipset Revision	00
Southbridge Vendor	AMD
Southbridge Model	SB700
Southbridge Revision	00

I'm switching to Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0
 
Solution
Tom Tancredi
The rule from Microsoft is: IF it is OEM (Dell, Gateway, Emachine) Windows is TIED to the hardware (Mobo, CPU and sometimes even the case) to be sold 'at a severe discount' and ONLY can run / will work with that hardware. What the others misunderstand / misspoke in their posts is, Windows WON'T even install much less START, because it will detect the 'wrong hardware' inside the machine and immediate refuse to work / install.

Now if your system was a 'pre-built' from some friend / IT shop, then it is most likely a BUILDER'S EDITION of Windows, or a normal 'off the shelf copy' of Windows you see at Walmart / etc. In those cases, you can install that to ANY ONE computer, no matter the hardware. So you replace the Mobo, CPU, and turn on...
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bicycle_repair_man

bicycle_repair_man

Splendid
Jan 10, 2014
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If you have the retail version of Windows 7 then you can reinstall it as many times as you want. If you have the OEM version, you'll be able to reinstall Windows, but you may have trouble activating it. At best, the online activation will work fine and you'll be good to go. At worst, you'll have to call Microsoft and see if they'll give you an activation code. Legally, if you have the OEM version you should buy a new copy of Windows, but Microsoft do make exceptions. It all depends on how lucky you get.

As far as I'm aware, if Windows 7 isn't activated you can still upgrade to Windows 8.
 
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IMTECH

IMTECH

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Aug 10, 2013
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I don't think you'll have to buy Windows 7 again.

Will I ever need to activate Windows on my computer again?
Maybe. You might have to activate Windows again if:

You make a significant hardware change to your computer, such as upgrading the hard disk and memory at the same time. If a major hardware change requires activating Windows again, you'll be notified and will have three days to activate Windows.

You reinstall Windows. In this case, you’ll have 30 days to activate Windows again.

If you have to activate Windows again on the same computer, you don't need to buy a new product key. For more information, see Activate Windows 7 on this computer.
Click to expand...
Here is the LINK that points you to the same thing on Microsoft's website.
 
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Tom Tancredi

Tom Tancredi

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May 9, 2013
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The rule from Microsoft is: IF it is OEM (Dell, Gateway, Emachine) Windows is TIED to the hardware (Mobo, CPU and sometimes even the case) to be sold 'at a severe discount' and ONLY can run / will work with that hardware. What the others misunderstand / misspoke in their posts is, Windows WON'T even install much less START, because it will detect the 'wrong hardware' inside the machine and immediate refuse to work / install.

Now if your system was a 'pre-built' from some friend / IT shop, then it is most likely a BUILDER'S EDITION of Windows, or a normal 'off the shelf copy' of Windows you see at Walmart / etc. In those cases, you can install that to ANY ONE computer, no matter the hardware. So you replace the Mobo, CPU, and turn on the computer, Windows will detect the changes right off BEFORE you see any icons, and will attempt to load the right drivers, then will prompt you to 're activate' Windows. NOW if you haven't INSTALLED this COPY more then 3 or 4 times (system crashed, reinstalled windows, upgrade in hardware, etc.) this won't be a issue, but after that many times it will prompt you to CALL the MICROSOFT number on the screen and follow the prompts to type in MANUALLY the code you see in front of your eyes on the screen. You will then get told a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG series of numbers / letters to type back into the system, and boom your activated.
 
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