I'm a real newbie who managed to scrape a homebuilt together a couple years ago; the thing works (just followed the directions) but I honestly don't understand everything I did. So shorter words and only non-obscure acronyms in any responses will be helpful.

It's time for me to upgrade my CPU, but in order to do so, I'm going to need a new motherboard as well. Everything else is staying basically the same, including the hard drive. I read somewhere that an OEM copy of XP Professional XP2 cannot be put on more than one machine, so I'm worried about whether/how I can do this without plunking down another $130 on a separate copy of XP Pro SP2. I suspect it's not as simple as swapping out the mobo/CPU, holding my breath, and crossing my fingers. It is the "same" machine though, isn't it? I feel like I should be entitled to do this, but that usually doesn't matter.

I've seen similar questions asked a few times already, but I'm not sure whether the OEM nature of the OS makes a difference. Any insight will be appreciated.

According to the Microsoft EULA, an OEM copy is tied to the motherboard of the computer it was first installed on. However, if your motherboard dies, you can replace it. (hint, hint) You will probably need to do a Repair installation if not a clean install.

Grumpy

Because you Had to replace your mobo, you'll have to activate Windows via the phone. Do the On Line Activation when asked and the phone number will come up. Never had a problem and have Had to replace motherboards any number of times. Make sure your CPU and RAM will work with the new mobo. If you're not sure, give us the mfg/model of your current mobo.

Thanks to both! Color me reassured.

Sorry to drag up an older topic, but I just finished this upgrade and I'm not sure what to do with Windows now. When I boot from the Windows CD, I'm given a choice of setting up Windows (is this a fresh install?), repairing from the recovery console (a command prompt; I have no idea where to start with that), or exit. I don't mind the fresh install and activating by phone per g-paw's comment, but I want to make sure that's (a) the right thing to do, and (b) won't go reformatting my hard drive or anything like that. I've never reinstalled Windows before and I'm not sure what to expect.

Thanks again for any insight.

Hit Enter to continue and then choose Repair when the Installer finds your current Windows installation.

Grumpy

You can do the above but if you want to do a clean install, go with the Setting Up Windows option but be sure to install on your C drive. There are 2 schools of thought with a new mobo. One, a clean install and the second is to do a Repair, which should delete all the drivers from the old mobo. I'm of the clean Install School. Over time Windows accumulates all kinds of garbage, e.g., files left over after uninstalling programs and as well as registry entries that are no longer needed, which is why I like clean installs. But again, if you don't want to go through a clean install, do what Grumpy suggests

Thank you both. I agree with g-paw about the advantages of a clean install, but I was a little concerned about my data and didn't want to risk losing anything, so I did as Grumpy suggested with the "set up" and "repair". Worked like a charm, and all my user information was maintained (including simple things like desktop settings; I assumed I'd at least have to re-pick my desktop background, but no). Re-activating via Microsoft's toll-free number was even easier than I'd expected: the whole thing took 6 minutes (MS's estimate) and didn't involve any human beings at all, so no time wasted on hold. Awesome.

Thanks again for the help.

Glad you got it worked out. Would suggest you either partition your current drive and put all your data on the 2nd partition or get a 2nd drive for your data. Either will eliminate hassles of backing up data before a clean install. Partition Magic is an excellent program for creating and resizing partitions after Windows has been installed if you decide to partition