component change in Win 7

I have a 3 year old Asus motherboard in my pc and have win 7 oem installed (my own build). If I fitted a new motherboard would this invalidate my 64bit windows 7 oem disc? Or if I changed the graphics card would that affect the licence. Are there any specifics here?

New motherboard necessitates clean install of Windows. That's a technical must, although not impossible to get the old install to work. Can't stress enough how much a clean install should be done.

I'll leave the rest of the questions up to Digerati, as he is great with this stuff. Graphics card change will not affect anything.

OEM usually means you cannot change anything in the computer (other than maybe small things like adding extra USB slots via a PCI card). A new Motherboard, I'm pretty sure, would invalidate the OEM licence

I cant say if M/S are more picky about Win7 but all my XP's have been OEM and I've just contacted M/S to re-validate if I've had to change the MoBo over.
When you think of it your still a single user, useing one purchased copy of the OS on one computer. If M/S were so mean as to force you to buy another copy just because you were unlucky enough to suffer a hardware failure then I'd have tossed M/S years ago.

I've added and removed HDD drives without issue.

I totally agree with Mychael on this one! Go ahead and update with a new motherboard, you'll just have to call MS Tech Support to type in a Validation Code.
Also have the latest drivers for your new motherboard too.

I have done the exact same thing in the past with Windows XP OEM and MS Tech Support never, ever had an issue with what I was doing by changing a motherboard. Also as Mychael stated, when you change a hard drive in XP OEM this is no issue at all.

Yes! It invalidates your license. A new motherboard is considered a new computer and therefore requires a new license. You can replace anything else (case, CPU, PSU, graphics card, HDs), but not the motherboard. It is not called "mother" or "main" board for nothing.

Note this only applies to OEM (System Builder) and Upgrade licenses. Retail licenses can be transfered to another computer, but only if all previous installations have been removed.

The only exception to this is if the original motherboard failed and you are replacing it as part of a repair action with an identical motherboard (or a suitable substitute as recommended by the original motherboard maker if original board is out of production).

Understand that just because you can get away with it does not make it right. Microsoft may allow it, but according to the EULA you agreed to when you initially installed that OEM license, that license is tied to the "original" hardware, and Microsoft has every right not to allow it. That is why they provide you a choice and sell Retail as well as OEM versions.

I would caution others about offering advice that violates copyright laws.

I cant offer all the in and outs of legal wording but it seems to me that if I've asked M/S themselves and lets face it it's their product and they say 'ok' well it seems to me that's their call.

The guy on the end is just a customer service guy. It's like calling Dell for tech support. He does not speak for the company. Certainly, it does no harm in calling, but understand that the warranty conditions are right there in black and white. It's basically like trying to talk a cop out of a speeding ticket. This assumes are you being honest when talking to Microsoft and you are telling them the truth - that is, that you are upgrading your system with a new, more advanced motherboard.

Again, you (by you, I mean anyone reading) had the choice of which type of license you wanted when you purchased it. If you wanted a transferable license, then you should have bought a "full retail" license. But if you bought a limited (OEM) license, then you need to live with the limitations.

A customer service guy, presumably employed by M/S same as an Apple store member employed by Apple. So with some leeway I assume but still basically following M/S policy.So if they're happy I'm happy.
We could argue semantics over what constitutes a 'computer' but I've never seen anyone being able to do work with just a MoBo, it's just a component that goes with other things to make up a computer. It would be a bit like saying your car is the engine, I've never seen anyone drive an engine to work.
So if my Mobo were to fail on the computer to which I have my OEM software installed I would expect to be able to replace that component to keep the computer running with it's existing software without issue.

Now you are changing the parameters of this discussion. Please stay on track to avoid confusion.

Also, please follow what has already been said. I said clearly above, you are allowed to use the same license when replacing a failed motherboard as part of a repair action. This discussion is about upgrading with a new motherboard. That is a totally different scenario from replacing a broken motherboard.

Note a motherboard upgrade could easily require a different CPU (because of a different socket), different RAM, replacing the IDE drives with SATA, and replacing an AGP graphics card with a PCIe. Then all that would probably require a new PSU to run it. In other words, an upgrade could mean replacing everything but the case. So the line must be drawn somewhere and the most logical place is with the motherboard because everything attaches to and runs off it.

So I say again, if you are upgrading your motherboard, you are building a new computer and you need a new license. Period.

And note semantics has nothing to do with it. Read your EULAs. It will say something along the lines of "original equipment" or, as in the case with Win7 Professional System Builders license, it says, Note Microsoft KB Article KB824125 near the bottom under More Information where it says, Note this is not just a Microsoft policy, but an industry-wide policy. If you received a game or Norton IS with your computer or motherboard, you cannot transfer those either.

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Now if you don't like the policy, please don't complain to me - I am just the messenger. But I would suggest you not promote violating EULAs when giving advice or you may risk more than site banishment for promoting software piracy.