Vista x64 OEM and New Motherboard

I had to replace my Motherboard the other day, which I was somewhat
concerned about the Activation side of things with Vista x64 OEM that I had
purchased a couple of months ago. I read so much on the fact that the OS
keeps tabs on the Motherboard, and that if you change it you will need
activating again, or maybe purchase another key, which I certainly didn't
want to do! Anyway, I installed my new Motherboard (Gigabyte GA-MA69VM-S2)
which replaced my previous Asrock one. I kept the Vista installation intact
on the Hard Drive. Hooked everything up, then turned on the pc. Vista loaded
up, replaced the previous Motherboard drivers for the new Gigabyte ones. I
rebooted, then took a gander at the activation bit. Yes, it needed to be
activated again. However, I was surprised to find that all I needed to do
was activate over the internet again, no ringing Microsoft or whatever, just
a simple click of the mouse! Is this down to the fact that Vista knew that
all I did was replace the Motherboard and obviously still using the same
i.p. address when connecting to their activation servers? Or will I find in
a few hours that the activation will suddenly revert and stop me using my
OS?
I have to admit to being a little worried.
:-/

Once you're activated, you're activated for good (or until enough hardware
changes to require re-activation).

- John

"Andy" wrote:

> I had to replace my Motherboard the other day, which I was somewhat
> concerned about the Activation side of things with Vista x64 OEM that I had
> purchased a couple of months ago. I read so much on the fact that the OS
> keeps tabs on the Motherboard, and that if you change it you will need
> activating again, or maybe purchase another key, which I certainly didn't
> want to do! Anyway, I installed my new Motherboard (Gigabyte GA-MA69VM-S2)
> which replaced my previous Asrock one. I kept the Vista installation intact
> on the Hard Drive. Hooked everything up, then turned on the pc. Vista loaded
> up, replaced the previous Motherboard drivers for the new Gigabyte ones. I
> rebooted, then took a gander at the activation bit. Yes, it needed to be
> activated again. However, I was surprised to find that all I needed to do
> was activate over the internet again, no ringing Microsoft or whatever, just
> a simple click of the mouse! Is this down to the fact that Vista knew that
> all I did was replace the Motherboard and obviously still using the same
> i.p. address when connecting to their activation servers? Or will I find in
> a few hours that the activation will suddenly revert and stop me using my
> OS?
> I have to admit to being a little worried.
> :-/
>