Hey harris1986, their is a slight difference between being activated and being licensed. If you have the OEM version of Windows Vista, like yourself, you can change any system component in your machine apart from the motherboard and you will still be licensed. You may have to re-activate Windows Vista after a hardware change but you will still be allowed to activate Vista and will not be breaking the EULA. Now depending how significant the hardware change is, for example updating the BIOS of your motherboard, you may have to ring Microsoft up yourself because online activation may fail. If you do have to ring them up, just tell them what has happened and they will happily activate your copy of Windows Vista for you.
If you change your motherboard, (We are not talking about replacing your motherboard under warranty here) for a performance upgrade then I am afraid you will have to purchase a new copy of Windows Vista. If you don’t do this and buy a new motherboard, the only way you will be able activate the copy of Windows Vista you already have is to lie to Microsoft and come up with something, now if they give you a new code, you now may be activated but you certainly are no longer licensed and would have just broken the EULA.
Some of you may say that, Microsoft themselves gave me a new code so how can i be violating the EULA. They gave you a new code because you had lied to them, if you said the truth and told them you changed your motherboard for a performance upgrade, they will tell you to go out and purchase a new copy of Windows Vista. Theirs a certain amount of trust Microsoft give its customers, if you wish to abuse this that is up to you.
As you can see, their is also a difference between what you can physically do and what you can do legally.
You can probably blag it with the old motherboard failed line.
You can but you will be violating the EULA.
