I am a first time poster. I will try as hard as possible not to ask a question that has been asked before.

I read the thread about clean installing an upgrade of Windows Vista.

I don't have a problem per se, but I am researching any issues I will have in the near future with installing Vista on a new motherboard. I emphasize that data backup is not my concern as I have an external hard drive to store it.

I have Vista Ultimate upgrade version installed on top of my oem Windows XP Pro software I purchased years ago on newegg.com. This is all on my current motherboard, which I intend on soon dropping in favor of one that supports Intel Core 2 Duo processors. The board I am looking at is a ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA LGA775/ PT880 Ultra/ DDR&DDR2/ PCI-E&AGP/ A&L/ ATX Motherboard, which supports all of my existing components except for of course my current outdated P4. I don't want a total sytem upgrade yet, just a cheap motherboard that works and new processor.

I have upgraded motherboards successfully in the past with my XP oem. I of course had to call Microsoft and explain that my old motherboard...ahem..broke. I had to move my hard drive over and subsequently save the new configuration over my old data. This won't be a problem next time since I have an external drive.

So my issue is this.....My Vista upgrade key is registered to my current system already. Will I have any problems with Microsoft once I try to do the clean install trick with my new motherboard? Should I take my old XP oem disk and do a clean install over my old data and then install vista upgrade? Any chance I will be locked out from having my keys usable on the new system? Has anybody had experience trying these before?

I appreciate any help on this and apologize for the long winded explanation.

I've read about this, but haven't any experience myself. As long as you have a legal copy of XP and a legal copy of the Vista Upgrade you shouldn't have any issues. At worst this would necessitate a call to Microsoft because of the significant change in hardware.

It appears that Vista will no longer check for previous OS's unless they are installed on the disk. So (IMO) your options are:
1) Install XP, then do the Custom install option to have a clean copy of Vista on your system. or
2) Install Vista without activating/entering the product key, then reinstall it as a clean install (article here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/12/ch...a_for_everyone/ ) While this is technically a violation of the EULA, you already have the copy of the qualifying OS (XP) and aren't trying to "beat the system".

Any chance you think that the Vista startup repair utility on the vista disk will make the Windows run on the new motherboard, or do you think a clean install of Vista will be necessary?

I'd imagine that the repair utility on the DVD will allow you to run it on the new motherboard. But I wouldn't take any bets on it if it's an upgrade from XP.

I'd suggest that you remove all hardware that you can from the OS (and from the old mobo before transferring the disk to the new mobo. Uninstall anything that will change with the new mobo and you'll increase your chances of a successful transfer.

Vista's Repair Is Flawless !
It fixed my Dual boot in about 5 seconds.
Also you can Disable other devices from windows Recourses.
Windows completely stops unknown devices so you can find
The proper drivers. no more krnl errors

That's great! Thanks for letting us know!