Tony has a very "good handle" on all this.  MS will weigh the "merits"
of an OEM OS switch. They have the right to allow or reject a new
motherboard based on if there is a change in the features present on
the new MB. If it "seems" like a new system (to them) with a new
"improved MB" then an OEM version move "could be" rejected.
" Exactly WHO" you get when you call might play as an important
factor in this as anything else...
Since it is a subjective decision (and a judgment call) YMMV...

Nobody mentioned the difference in price. An OEM version is considerably
cheaper when originally purchased, and one thing you "give up" is the "unconditional"
right and ability to permanently transfer it to a different machine after the old one is
out of service. If someone wants to "count on" (or have the RIGHTS) to hand down
the OS as their older machine "dies", then MS has the answer for you.
Buy the FPP version (FullProductPackage) at retail. (And pay two or three times
as much.)

The original decision was economic, and then gets clouded (and bogged down) by
the details of MS enforcement while trying to be fair...

                                                     Rick Glazier


From: "Tony Mayer"
> So, yes...if your computer that had the OEM version is destroyed, then
> you do not have the right to install that OS on a new system.
> Microsoft is clear that the OEM version(s) of XP are tied to the
> motherboard.  If a motherboard is defective and replaced with an
> identical motherboard under warranty, then no new OS license is
> required.  If you put a different motherboard in, then a new license
> *would* be required.
> I would agree that this is harsh on Microsoft's part, but it IS what
> they intended :(

> Sven wrote:
>> In actuality I cannot state whether it's correct or not. Based on the
>> statements from the chat session in more than one instance, their
>> conclusions appear to hinge on an "OEM EULA" which I haven't seen.

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