I have a Gigabyte GA-P35-Ds3 motherboard that has just died. Do I need to replace it with the identical model or is there some leeway in replacing the mobo that won't affect the current win7 licence.
If it is a retail license, no, any motherboard will be fine.
If it is an OEM license, you will likely have to replace with same model unless Microsoft shows you a little leeway. I have heard they will, at times, depending on how you plead your case and who you talk to.
Motherboard models don't stay around forever, so they may well cut you some slack if that model is no longer available--motherboards do fail and they know it.
It is an OEM licence. I was hoping to put in a similar GA-P35 mobo and when it detects a hardware change that I could do a simple reactivation over the internet.
All you can do is try. It's hard to say how fussy they might be when you try to activate.
choppies,
In your case, the worst that can happen is that you have to activate via phone. Replacement of the mobo with a 100% identical board is ok on oem license.
If you need to activate by phone and are asked for a reason, just tell them you needed to replace a dead motherboard. You'll be fine.
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