RMA Motherboard for different one, no Windows?

[zrobbb]

Hello;

Recently I had to RMA my Gigabyte motherboard. There was none of the same motherboard in stock so i purchased an Asus motherboard instead. Obviously as Windows is tied to the motherboard my version of Windows is not licensed.

So my question is, do I have to buy another copy of Windows? Or is there a way I can get the licence for my current version of Windows? Surely it's not fair for me to pay for another copy of Windows due to a fault that was beyond my control.

Any contribution would be great.

Rob

 

[C12Friedman]

You should be able to revalidate your license through MS, they may require some kind of proof your original mobo was RMA'd but It's my belief here that you are still within MS's license terms for your already purchased windows copy, you shouldn't need to pay again. It does seem as though there may be a chipset upgrade which may be cause for concern especially if the gigabyte board was non-overclockable but again, without an identical replacement available, you may be okay even with an upgrade there.
I realize, probably not much help but do contact MS and see what they have to say... good luck

 

[zrobbb]

You should be able to revalidate your license through MS, they may require some kind of proof your original mobo was RMA'd but It's my belief here that you are still within MS's license terms for your already purchased windows copy, you shouldn't need to pay again. It does seem as though there may be a chipset upgrade which may be cause for concern especially if the gigabyte board was non-overclockable but again, without an identical replacement available, you may be okay even with an upgrade there.
I realize, probably not much help but do contact MS and see what they have to say... good luck

Thank you for your reply, I will give them a call today.

 

[zrobbb]

Just an update; I contacted Microsoft and they gave me a new product key. Very easy and very helpful.

 

[C12Friedman]

Just an update; I contacted Microsoft and they gave me a new product key. Very easy and very helpful.

Awesome! Thanks for reporting back