Posted March 22, 2015 I bought an OEM PC but have changed the case, PSU and CPU cooler. I have also added a graphics card and case fans. I want to now change the motherboard and in the future change the RAM, am I at risk of loosing my copy of Windows if I do this? I have heard so many different opinions but I need an answer now. If I need to keep the RAM then I will but I have to change the motherboard. Thanks Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 If you change one part atm it doesn't effect but if you change cpu, mobo and gpu at the same time it could go wrong. Spoiler CPU: i7-5820k @ 4.4GHz Motherboard: Asus X99 Strix Graphics Card: Gigabyte 980Ti G1 Gaming Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury 24GB (3x 8GB) Hard Drive: 1TB WD Green SSD: Samsung 950 Pro 250GB CPU Cooling: Corsair H100i Power Supply: EVGA G2 850W Case: Corsair 400c Mouse: Logitech G502 Keyboard: Asus Strix (mx reds) Monitor: BenQ XL2730Z 1440p@144hz OS: Windows 10 Professional 64-Bit Laptops: Lenovo Y50-70: i7-4720HQ - 16GB RAM - 256GB SSD - GTX 960m 4GB - MacBook Pro (Early 2016) 2,0GHz i5 - 8GB Ram - 256GB SSD Phone: iPhone 7+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 You'll just have to call microsoft to reactivate it eGPU Setup: Macbook Pro 13" 16GB DDR3 RAM, 512GB SSD, i5 3210M, GTX 980 eGPU New PC: i7-4790k, Corsair H100iGTX, ASrock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer, 24GB Ram, 850 EVO 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, GTX 1080 Fractal Design R4, EVGA Supernova G2 650W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 If it's an OEM copy of Windows, changing boards will make you loose the copy. You could call up Microsoft and see if they'll allow you to transfer the license over to the new board. Other than that you'll need a new product key. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 Author Alright so if I boot my PC after changing the board it will go into Windows but the licence wont be active, then after that I contact Microsoft to activate it? Is that correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 OEM license of Windows is attached to your motherboard. If you change your motherboard, and it is not because the previous was broken and you can't find the exact replacement (or the CPU broke and you can't find that, so you had to change the motherboard due to the new CPU), then you cannot transfer your license. You need to buy a new license of Windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 You should be fine. You can also have two PC's running the same W7 activation code at the same time. I know because I am doing it,. Don't tell anyone though, I gave my last PC to my sister and built a new PC, couldn't get Mint to run properly so went to W7 and it worked fine. (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(") GTX 1070 5820K 500GB Samsung EVO SSD 1TB WD Green 16GB of RAM Corsair 540 Air Black EVGA Supernova 750W Gold Logitech G502 Fiio E10 Wharfedale Diamond 220 Yamaha A-S501 Lian Li Fan Controller NHD-15 KBTalking Keyboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 You should be fine. You can also have two PC's running the same W7 activation code at the same time. I know because I am doing it,. Don't tell anyone though, I gave my last PC to my sister and built a new PC, couldn't get Mint to run properly so went to W7 and it worked fine.No you are not, and no you can't. This is against the license agreement of Windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 Author I have spoke to Microsoft and they said I am aloud to change the board then they will activate my key Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 I have spoke to Microsoft and they said I am aloud to change the board then they will activate my key Nice to know! I wish Microsoft did that with my Office 2013.They wouldn't transfer it for me. :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 No you are not, and no you can't. This is against the license agreement of Windows. I did it somehow then. It was an OEM license to so it's even more restricted. Unless OEM licenses are allowed to do that which I thought they were restricted to only being able to change the GPU and memory. Anything else would require you to change the license. Still it's good for me because I can still use my favorite OS. I do wander hwo I will be able to upgrade to W10 though, I hope it works. (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(") GTX 1070 5820K 500GB Samsung EVO SSD 1TB WD Green 16GB of RAM Corsair 540 Air Black EVGA Supernova 750W Gold Logitech G502 Fiio E10 Wharfedale Diamond 220 Yamaha A-S501 Lian Li Fan Controller NHD-15 KBTalking Keyboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 22, 2015 I did it somehow then. It was an OEM license to so it's even more restricted. Unless OEM licenses are allowed to do that which I thought they were restricted to only being able to change the GPU and memory. Anything else would require you to change the license. Still it's good for me because I can still use my favorite OS. I do wander hwo I will be able to upgrade to W10 though, I hope it works.You can also go out and steal. That doesn't make that legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 23, 2015 Every time I have a large configuration change (different SSDs, motherboard swap), Windows won't accept my key. A phone call to their automated activation service sorts it out though, and from then on it'll activate the PC every time ... until I start messing with partitions and drives again, in which case I need to call the MS activation line again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 23, 2015 You can also go out and steal. That doesn't make that legal. I never said it was right and I never had any intention of having both versions working, it just went out that way. I was under the impression the other OS license on that PC would be terminated but it never did. I suppose it's like finding money in your coat pocket and remembering whose it was but they live a long way away and you don't know their number, you could find out that number but you don't really want to. (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(") GTX 1070 5820K 500GB Samsung EVO SSD 1TB WD Green 16GB of RAM Corsair 540 Air Black EVGA Supernova 750W Gold Logitech G502 Fiio E10 Wharfedale Diamond 220 Yamaha A-S501 Lian Li Fan Controller NHD-15 KBTalking Keyboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 24, 2015 OEM Windows 7 "can" be switched: I first had it on my MacBook Pro w/ Bootcamp, sold the MB P and called Microsoft to activate it on my new Mac Mini, then I sold the Mini and build a real PC, installed the same Windows 7 OEM and then called Microsoft, talked to a live person who transfer me to the automated activation center and reactivate my OEM copy. After probably at least 10X format and re-install, SSD change, etc, the only time I'm ask for the key is when I do a clean install. When you call Microsoft, you need to talk to a live person first, I think, or am I being lucky, go figure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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