Are OEM versions of Windows software tied to the motherboard as far as IDing a system? Because I know any storebought computer has an OEM version of the OS on it, and you can upgrade most of the machine usually, including CPU, hard drives, ram, etc. So is the motherboard the identifying factor keeping you from using the install on another computer in the future?
Hello Skiltrip,
A OEM copy of Windows 7 is permanently tied to the first computer that it was activated on, and can never be activated on any other computer afterwards. The motherboard serial number is one of many items that is referenced when used to determine what computer the Windows 7 is on though.
Hope this helps,
Shawn
1) When you buy a computer with oem win7 preinstalled and preactivated, you get it cheap because of various reasons- the license is not transferrable and MS support is not bundled with it.
2) Royalty OEM activation is tied to the specific OEM in various ways- two of the three required components are OEM specific while the 3rd is identifiable with the OEM.
So, OEM activation is tied to the motherboard only in the sense that the bios flag which is one of those components is OEM specific.
And transferrability is a somewhat alien concept for OEM edition- since it is bundled with the computer it came on.
But if you tell us what exactly you want to do, we'll be able to guide you more specifically.
I'm actually not looking to do anything. This is purely a curiosity question. As I know OEM is tied to the first computer it's installed, and the identifying link must be hardware, I was just wondering which pieces of hardware or combination of hardware pieces did the identifying. As I know you an upgrade some parts of the computer, even on a store bought machine with an OEM version of Windows on it.
Thanks for the replies guys.
OEM is not supposed to be transferred from one pc to an entirely new pc. With that said you can upgrade your machine and activate the OEM software fine. You may need to call Microsoft to do this.
Dell and other massive pc manufacturers have the activation and product key information stored on their motherboards. This is why when you do a format using a dell disk you never have to activate or enter any key information.
The motherboard has always been the "primary component" in determining what a computer is, in terms of licensing.
It isn't stored on the motherboard at all. The licenses are pre-activated on the disc, but they do verify the BIOS to make sure it is a Dell system. That's why that same disc would fail on an HP, for example.
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