Windows 10 Wiki FAQs

Chuck38 said:

What if I were to upgrade my motherboard? Would the life of my device end?

I think that will be the biggest contender.

Sometimes you can replace a motherboard if it's "similar" enough.

I changed one a few years ago. Mobo died in an Intel machine. It was obsolete and I couldn't find one. An i3core CPU and other expensive left me searching. An online surplus outfit had a surplus Dell board that would take the i3 cpu.
To reactivate that I was on the phone around the world several times but the finally activated it.
YMMV

"there are ways to change the MAC address, but I doubt that would fly"

That never came up when I put the Dell board in an Intel machine!

I should have mentioned before.............
search "surplus motherboards" and you'll find most anything you might be looking for.
Online dealers buy the surplus parts by the boatload and I've always managed to find what I was looking for with the exception of a ribbon for a Canon "Stariter" portable typewriter. Still looking for one

f14tomcat said:

Got one of these in the basement, if it'll help!



Seriously, though, what I know about hardware inside of the case would fit in a thimble and there'd still be room for your thumb! You and others like you are lucky you know how to swap and force-feed components. My take on the motherboard thing really pertains to the other 99.9% of users. Cheers!

Do you have the power cord or that machine The cord is what's hard to find

OK, I can't resist putting in my 2 cents worth . . . when could I ever!? The following is all hypothetical, but maybe it could work?

So, I have an HP Pavilion 500-056 with Windows 8.1 (or 7) on it. When Windows 10 goes RTM, I choose to upgrade Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. OK, that's a given . . . If I don't like Windows 10, I am given the chance to "downgrade" back to Windows 8.1 one time only.

Or

I have a self-built machine with Windows 8.1 (or 7) on it. When Windows 10 goes RTM, I choose to upgrade Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. OK, that's a given . . . If I don't like Windows 10, I am given the chance to "downgrade" back to Windows 8.1 one time only.

If I go either of these routes, I am no longer qualified for a Windows 10 upgrade from Windows 8.1 (or 7) on that system. After all, Microsoft doesn't need the headache of keeping track of systems that jump back and forth between Windows 10 and 8.1 (or 7) half a dozen times.

At some point, Microsoft and I must agree that the switch from Windows 8.1 (or 7) to Windows 10 is permanent. At that point, whether I have an actual OEM or Self-Built machine, it will immediately be labeled (for all intents and purposes) an OEM machine. For the life of that (OEM) machine, Windows 10 gets updates and everything else that comes with the OS.

Once my OEM (or re-certified to OEM) machine dies, Windows also dies. As we all know, if an OEM system cannot be repaired, the OS cannot be transferred to another system.

I am unsure, though, if the OEM Windows is tied to the motherboard, but I think it is.

Sooooooo, I would think that with my HP Pavilion 500-056 system already being OEM, that the life of the machine has already been decided?

f14tomcat said:

Got one of these in the basement, if it'll help!



Seriously, though, what I know about hardware inside of the case would fit in a thimble and there'd still be room for your thumb! You and others like you are lucky you know how to swap and force-feed components. My take on the motherboard thing really pertains to the other 99.9% of users. Cheers!

I learned to type on one of those! When I got an IBM Selectric, I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven!

Ummm, Roger's is an Canon and yours is an Underwood. His is portable and yours is a permanent fixture that will give you a hernia if you pick it up too many times.