OEM Windows 7 Cannot Be Transferred to New Computers from the Original Machine
Last Updated on Sunday, 24 May 2009 10:44 Written by Mire_B Sunday, 24 May 2009 10:40
Users will not have the option to transfer Windows 7 shipping with new PCs under an OEM license to another computer, as Microsoft considers the move equivalent to piracy. Just as OEM Windows Vista, Windows 7 OEM licenses are tied to the desktop, laptop, netbook, etc. they are installed on originally by the PC manufacturer.
Not only do users not get the rights to move the Windows 7 client they acquired with a new computer to another machine, but they also have to limit the amount of hardware changes they will introduce in the case of an upgrade. While adding more system memory (RAM), or a larger hard drive (HDD) does not affect the overall configuration to the point where Windows 7 will think it is running on a new machine, motherboard upgrades are a deal breaker.
Windows 7 OEM copies are dependent on the motherboard; changing the motherboard and running the operating system on the upgraded computer constitutes a violation of the license agreement, as the hardware configuration is now detected by the platform as a new machine. In such a scenario Windows 7 will behave as if it were pirated.
If customers sell their OEM computer, they will have to also include Windows 7 with the OEM licenses it came with initially (the software is useless (read pirated) running on any other machine than the one it shipped with in the first place). If an OEM computer dies (if the motherboard is fried for example), the Windows 7 copy/license dies with it.
Microsoft: A System Builder is required to support the license on the original PC. System Builders must place support phone number in a noticeable location in the fully assembled computer system help files or end-user documentation. A System Builder cannot support a license that has been moved from a PC they manufactured to one they did not. This is one of the key reasons why an OEM System Builder license can’t be transferred. 
After an OEM software license has been installed on a PC, the license may not be installed on or transferred to another PC. However, the entire PC may be transferred to another user along with the software license rights.
The end user license agreement (EULA) is granted to the end user by the System Builder and related ti the license on the PC with which it was originally distributed.