Still require a new $MS license or has this been solved? Legit like.
If you call microsoft like you would with XP, can’t you tell them that you only have it on your one machine and get it reactivated?
I don’t work with Vista much, but with XP you would change out the motherboard, run a windows repair to reinstall the drivers and support for the new hardware and re-activate. If it didn’t automatically activate, I’d call microsoft and tell them why I did a windows repair and tell them “just this one” when they asked “How many computers is it installed on”
Am I missing something with Vista that I may want to be aware of in the future?
I’d call them and say that you has issues with your old motherboard and had to send it back a few times and out of fustration got a new one (different brand) and now need to activate windows for it.
I would think that they’d cut you some slack
No repair install in Vista. There’s an Upgrade install, which is the same thing since you can upgrade vista to vista, but you can only kick it off from within windows. Thus defeating the point if you get a new mobo.
I have never had a problem getting MS to issue a code when calling them.
You are calling non native english speaking people, their job is just to agree with you and spit out a code.
Maybe I’m missing something but I’ve never had to do a repair install when replacing a MB in XP.
The last one I changed pretty much every piece of hardware except the hard drive and plug and play reinstalled all the drivers just fine (with about 3 reboots). Motherboard, went from an AGP vid card to an onboard card, went from a PCI nic to an onboard nic and went from a PCI sound card to onboard sound. XP wasn’t real happy the first couple of boots while it found all the new shit and forced reboots but once it figured out all the new drivers it was fine. Been running that machine about a year now with no problems.
It did force me to re-activate though. Not a problem because it was an MSDN copy of media center though.
I have. Switching from a P4 system with AGP graphics to a Core 2 Duo with PCI express, my computer got really pissed and started boot looping in both Vista and XP. Was a real bitch. I had to use some half assed workaround to get Vista back to life.
With XP if the chip set was way different you would have to do a repair install or you would get bluescreens on boot and shit…
No repair install for Vista? That blows…
Now I’m glad the government hasn’t switched and I get to enjoy my easy XP administration.
And Jay, BS on replacing the motherboard to a different brand without a repair. It would BSOD if you did, unless the boards were very similar and didn’t use different drivers/chipset. 
EDIT: LZ beat me to it 
All though I do a lot of physical to virtual conversions…and with a lot of reboots and pre installing drivers Windows server seems to work shit out…
the workaround i used for repair install in vista was
1.) start “upgrade install” in vista, let it initiate the process, copy files to hard drive, sit there and wait for it to do the restart.
2.) When it shuts itself down to start the install, keep it off instead of letting it restart. Then do all the hardware swaps.
3.) Turn it back on and let it continue the process with the new shit in there.
Brilliant! 
:tup:
Kinda what I was thinking but needed a lil validation.
Tks Joe
If the old motherboard works, do a ghost image to a spare hard drive prior to initiating the “upgrade install” as per Joe’s recommendation.
That way, if something does go wrong, you can ghost the image back and try again with the original hardware as if you didn’t attempt the hardware upgrade and repair install.
It’d suck if it should work but fails and you are stuck scratching your head.
GL nick. I am 4 for 5 using this procedure, including twice where i actually put the hard drive into a new PC and continued. One time, for whatever reason, I accidentally the entire HD and it just showed up as a RAW unformatted partition. That was actually downgrading from a sweet quad core rig back down to a P4 so I’m guessing something didn’t play nice.
can’t you still run sysprep and have it unload all of the drivers and have it reinstall? if they got rid of this with vista i would be surprised.
well, i guess i actually wouldn’t, but i should be surprised
i just re-installed vista64 on my new build and it re-activated without a problem.