[SOLVED] do i need to buy a new copy of windows after replacing motherboard?

[3621]

I have a prebuilt ACER G3-605 and I was wondering if I needed to buy an entirely new copy of Windows if I were to replace the motherboard. I read a thread that said that it might deactivate your Windows on certain prebuilt PCs when you replace the motherboard.

 

[Mooons]

No you will not need to buy a new copy of windows.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...e-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665

 

[USAFRet]

I have a prebuilt ACER G3-605 and I was wondering if I needed to buy an entirely new copy of Windows if I were to replace the motherboard. I read a thread that said that it might deactivate your Windows on certain prebuilt PCs when you replace the motherboard.

"Buy"...maybe not.

Can you link the existing license to your MS account?
If so, no new purchase needed.

However...the license associated with a prebuilt system is one of the few cases where you cannot transfer that to new hardware.

 

[USAFRet]

Further question:
Why the motherboard change?

 

[DSzymborski]

I have a prebuilt ACER G3-605 and I was wondering if I needed to buy an entirely new copy of Windows if I were to replace the motherboard. I read a thread that said that it might deactivate your Windows on certain prebuilt PCs when you replace the motherboard.

Depends. If you had a prebuilt Windows 7 or something that you upgraded to Windows 10, that would be transferrable due to changes in the way Microsoft stores license IDs. If this was a prebuilt Windows 10, then it's a bit murkier as there was no "conversion" to Windows 10.

Hard to say in your case, since you didn't go into any detail about what version of Windows you actually have. That's why it's useful to provide all relevant information.