Vista and comp upgrade

[rpv]

I got the single user OEM version of Vista and installed it on my present machine. Now I am bit by the upgrade bug. I am hoping to get a new quad CPU, motherboard and video card. Not upgrading anything else including the hard drives the OS is loaded on.

My question is will I be able to use the same installation or will I have to buy one again?

Thanks for all replies.

 

[mechBgon]

In that situation, you have an OEM license that's not supposed to be installed on any other computer evar. The question is where to draw the line between the old computer and the new one. Microsoft could do better at clarifying this, but it seems the motherboard is intended to be the "tiebreaker," the heart of your computer that the license needs to stay with.

One solution is to sell your old motherboard, CPU and chassis (since your OEM Windows COA sticker is stuck to the chassis) as a bundle with your old Windows license. Then get a new OEM Windows license to go with your new mobo/CPU/video combo, or preferably get a Retail license and get it over with (as you probably know, Retail doesn't get tied to the first computer you install it on, it's yours).