Replacing an OEM motherboard

Most likely not. You would have to do a clean install of Windows 7 using an OEM version of Windows 7 from a CD. Then you should be able to use the original CD key(should be on a sticker applied to the case somewhere) to activate Windows. However, there is no gaurantee that it would work. Did you get a Windows 7 installation CD with the computer or is your only method of reinstalling windows from a separate partition on the HDD that contains the original configuration disk image(usually setup as your D: drive).

I do have the recovery CD set from the manufacture. I guess what I was looking at is three possibilities

1) Install the new motherboard and turn it on. The new mobo, HDD and OEM W7 all detect eachother and are compleatly fine with out any problems.

2) Install the new motherboard and there is a problem. I install the recovery CD's do a reformat of the drive and re-install the OEM W7 and everything works fine.

3) Have to get a new HDD and do a new Windows 7 install with a Windows 7 CD.

+1 What aqe040466 said is absolutely correct.

If you have a recovery set from the manufacturer then you cannot use any of the three options that you listed. How many disks does the recovery set include and how are they labeled?

The OEM Version of Windows 7 that Microsoft distributes for use by system builders and retailers is actually almost the same as the standard retail version with a few small but very significant differences. The primary difference is that an OEM version can only be activated by using an OEM license key. Standard Retail keys cannot be used to activate windows installations that come from an OEM CD. Also, Microsoft limits the number of activations that can be done using any single OEM license key regardless of the hardware that it is installed onto (I think the limit is 10 but not absolutely sure). This means that you can use an OEM version of Windows 7 after doing a motherboard upgrade and activate it successfully, however, each activation is tracked in microsoft's database and the OEM key that you are using will be disqualified if you use it too many times.

You need an actual WIN 7 install CD. I would suggest you try to install windows from your CD to find out if it is a true recovery set or if it is an installable OEM version. If it is installable you may be able to install on your upgraded machine and activate it without a problem. Just be sure to make a habit of doing periodic backups with a system image to make sure you don't use up activations unnecessarily by installing and activating windows on the same hardware.

Best answer selected by Anonymous_26.

This topic has been closed by Nikorr