Install new motherboard with an activated WinXP home standard

[Guest]

My question is a "what if" scenario. What happens if one's motherboard gets
fried (dies) and you have WinXP home standard installed on your hard drive
(assuming your hard drive survives)? Does XP recognize that your copy of XP
is valid even with the new hardware change or do you have to
"re-install/repair" the OS? Does the OS become invalid with such a scenario
even though you are the registered owner of the purchased OS?

 

[Joe Grover]

The problem isn't so much with licensing (as long as it isn't an OEM copy
that's tied to your motherboard) but more with the fact that XP will be
looking for hardware resources that don't exist anymore.

You can run a repair install from your CD and that should take care of that
problem. As long as your license isn't tied to the motherboard BIOS then
you shouldn't have further problems. Personally I've never trusted swapping
a motherboard on a machine and hoping the operating system works afterward
(unless it was the same model and revision), but folks have done this
successfully in the past.

Joe

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

My question is a "what if" scenario. What happens if one's motherboard gets
fried (dies) and you have WinXP home standard installed on your hard drive
(assuming your hard drive survives)? Does XP recognize that your copy of XP
is valid even with the new hardware change or do you have to
"re-install/repair" the OS? Does the OS become invalid with such a scenario
even though you are the registered owner of the purchased OS?

You will have to do a repair install if the motherboard is different
from the one that was replaced. Then your copy of Windows will
probably have to be reactivated.

 

[Lil' Dave]

My question is a "what if" scenario. What happens if one's motherboard
gets
fried (dies) and you have WinXP home standard installed on your hard drive
(assuming your hard drive survives)? Does XP recognize that your copy of
XP
is valid even with the new hardware change or do you have to
"re-install/repair" the OS? Does the OS become invalid with such a
scenario
even though you are the registered owner of the purchased OS?

The "what if" scenario leaves too much for speculation. You don't say if
the hard drive, internal cards, and external peripherals remain the same;
and if the motherboard is simply replaced with exact duplicate or very
similar one. You don't say if you're moving the hard drive to another PC
with different internal cards for example. You don't say if you're using XP
retail, XP generic OEM, or XP OEM.

All replies you will get are assuming something when making an answer. The
answer may or may not be appropriate for the exact situation.
Dave

 

[Patrick Keenan]

My question is a "what if" scenario. What happens if one's motherboard
gets
fried (dies) and you have WinXP home standard installed on your hard drive
(assuming your hard drive survives)? Does XP recognize that your copy of
XP
is valid even with the new hardware change or do you have to
"re-install/repair" the OS? Does the OS become invalid with such a
scenario
even though you are the registered owner of the purchased OS?

It's pretty simple. You reassemble the system with the new board (or move
the drive), boot from the CD, and do a repair install. There is no point
in even attempting to boot to XP unless the replacement board is completely
identical to the old one.

You will likely also have to activate, but this is not a problem. At
worst, you will have to make a phone call, and in that case you willb e
given a toll-free number.

HTH
-pk

 

[Anna]

My question is a "what if" scenario. What happens if one's motherboard
gets
fried (dies) and you have WinXP home standard installed on your hard drive
(assuming your hard drive survives)? Does XP recognize that your copy of
XP
is valid even with the new hardware change or do you have to
"re-install/repair" the OS? Does the OS become invalid with such a
scenario
even though you are the registered owner of the purchased OS?

Donald:
As you have heard from nearly all the responses to your query, the
likelihood is that installing a new (presumably different) motherboard in
the PC will necessitate a Repair install of the XP OS before the system will
become operational. Setting aside any OEM considerations, activation of the
system with MS will probably also be necessary. I assume you're aware that
it's also quite likely that new drivers - presumably furnished by the
manufacturer of the new motherboard will also need to be installed.

However...

In a fair number of cases - and I'm basing this comment on the experience
we've had with installing a few hundered motherboards in an XP
nvironment - it will *not* be necessary to undertake a Repair install of
the OS, even when the motherboard is being replaced is by a completely
different make & model. The HDD containing the XP OS that was being utilized
with the former motherboard will boot straightaway. Again, it's a virtual
certainty that the user will need to install the new motherboard drivers.

Admittedly, the number of cases where a Repair install of the OS will not be
necessary upon a change of motherboards is in the minority, to say the
least. But it's significant enough in our experience so that a user should
be aware of this possibility.

It's not clear from your query whether you've raised this issue as a
theoretical question or whether you are actually contemplating a motherboard
change. If it's the latter, my advice would be to go ahead with the
installation of a new motherboard and simply attempt a boot with the system
HDD. Should the boot fail, then onto a Repair install.
Anna

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My question is a "what if" scenario. What happens if one's motherboard gets
fried (dies) and you have WinXP home standard installed on your hard drive
(assuming your hard drive survives)? Does XP recognize that your copy of XP
is valid even with the new hardware change or do you have to
"re-install/repair" the OS? Does the OS become invalid with such a scenario
even though you are the registered owner of the purchased OS?

First, note that there is perhaps a difference, depending on whether
yours is a retail copy of Windows or an OEM copy.

First the retail copy: Yes, your license remains valid. You can change
motherboard and even the entire computer as many times and as often as
you want to.

Normally, a Repair installation, and then reactivation, is all you
need to do. It's a rare occurrence, but occasionally the differences
between the two motherboards are severe enough that a repair
installation doesn't work, and a complete clean installation is
required.

With an OEM copy of Windows, the technical side of what to do remains
the same, but there's a potential licensing issue to be aware of. It's
a can of worms, as far as I'm concerned. The OEM EULA states that
the license is valid only for the original computer it's installed on,
and it may never be moved to another.

The problem is that the Microsoft OEM EULA does not precisely define
exactly what constitutes the "computer." Some people claim that the
motherboard constitutes the computer. However logical that might seem,
the EULA does not state that, and the EULA is the document that
defines the rights of both parties to the agreement.

Some of those people point to a web site for System Builders, where
Microsoft defines the computer as the motherboard. However it's not
what it says on some web site that defines the customer's rights, it's
the EULA; besides, that web site is not even available to the general
public. I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is that if it ever came to a
court case and someone cited that web site, he'd be laughed out of
court.

So, can you replace a motherboard, consider the result the same
computer, and reuse your OEM copy of Windows? Regardless of what I
think, you think, or anyone else thinks, or even what a court might
rule if it came to that, the real issue is whether Microsoft will
permit you to reactivate if you do. Unfortunately the answer is again
not clear-cut, and we have heard here from people who have had both
experiences--some were reactivated and others were not. If they refuse
to reactivate you and you take them to court, you might win, but who
of us would be willing to undergo that trouble and expense to find
out?

So the answer, with an OEM version, is that there is no real answer.

 

[Guest]

Hi "Lil' Dave"

I purchased WinXP home standard through my workplace EPP. It is a boxed
retail version which states that it is for a computer with Win95 or no prior
WinOS. Interestingly enough, when I was having installation problems
initially because of bios issues like the ram speed set wrong, I tried the
original disk they sent me, which I thought was corrupted given the error
messages I was getting, in my kids old Dell Optiplex which was built for
Win98/WinNT. I was able to install it as an upgrade sans the activation to
see if the disk itself was corrupted and it installed. Knowing that my newer
computer should also be WinXP compliant I first tried to install WinXP with
my original activation code and was told that code was already used (I had
changed HD back to my original drive), so I used the newer activation code
and was able to install and verify activation. This why I wanted to know if I
ever have to upgrade/replace the MB will I still be able to use the OS on the
newer MB configuration. I am assuming that as long as I don't change the HD I
should be fine?

Donald B

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I purchased WinXP home standard through my workplace EPP. It is a boxed
retail version
[snip]

This why I wanted to know if I
ever have to upgrade/replace the MB will I still be able to use the OS on the
newer MB configuration. I am assuming that as long as I don't change the HD I
should be fine?

Since yours is a retail version, yes you will be fine. You will be
fine even you *do* change the hard drive. In fact you can change
*everything* to an entirely new computer without a problem. As I think
I said earlier in this thread, you can move retail versions wherever
you want, whenever you want, and as often as you want.

You may have to reactivate, but that's quick and easy. If it's more
than 120 days, it should activate over the internet just a it did the
first time. Worst case, if fewer than 120 days, it takes a quick
(normally under 5 minutes) voice call to an 800 number.

 

[Plato]

My question is a "what if" scenario. What happens if one's motherboard gets
fried (dies) and you have WinXP home standard installed on your hard drive
(assuming your hard drive survives)? Does XP recognize that your copy of XP
is valid even with the new hardware change or do you have to
"re-install/repair" the OS? Does the OS become invalid with such a scenario
even though you are the registered owner of the purchased OS?

Often you have to do a repair install if you changed to a new or more
modern modern motherboard to get things working back to normal.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315341

 

[Bruce Chambers]

My question is a "what if" scenario. What happens if one's motherboard gets
fried (dies) and you have WinXP home standard installed on your hard drive
(assuming your hard drive survives)? Does XP recognize that your copy of XP
is valid even with the new hardware change or do you have to
"re-install/repair" the OS? Does the OS become invalid with such a scenario
even though you are the registered owner of the purchased OS?

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore are
*not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting),
unless the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same
IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP
installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair
(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more than
120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most
likely be able to activate via the Internet without problem. If it's
been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone call.


--

Bruce Chambers

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[Lil' Dave]

Sounds like you acquired a new product key for the original installation XP
CD. You shouldn't need that with the exception noted by Donald. Keep
record of both product keys (not on your computer) written down someplace.
I do similar with a spiral notebook kept in a 1" 3 ring binder, along with
passwords and similar. Never kept on the PC.

You wait long enough, you can use either product key if you upgrade/replace
motherboard.
Dave