In reply to a post by zyborg47:

Anyway, we updated the machine a couple of years later, new motherboard, new CPU and it did windows XP would not install again and no matter how we tried it did not work.

Maybe you should have replaced the hard disk?

In reply to a post by MrTAToad2:

... But do they check....

To put it very simply, a certain section of the BIOS is checked against certain certificates held and read within the setup routine.

That is odd - I have never had a problem like that...

In reply to a post by Deadbeat:

To put it very simply, a certain section of the BIOS is checked against certain certificates held and read within the setup routine.

I thought the BIOS excutes the POST and then passes control to the OS, and it was OS that would then check if it is valied or not!
Which part of the BIOS checks for valid OS/certificates?

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

Anyway, we updated the machine a couple of years later, new motherboard, new CPU and it did windows XP would not install again and no matter how we tried it did not work.

Maybe you should have replaced the hard disk?

What difference would that make? i think we did replace the hard drive

In reply to a post by Deadbeat:

In reply to a post by MrTAToad2:

... But do they check....

To put it very simply, a certain section of the BIOS is checked against certain certificates held and read within the setup routine.

don't forget this OEM was one we got from Ebuyer, the one where you was suppose to buy some hardware to get it, but people never did.

In reply to a post by MrTAToad2:

That is odd - I have never had a problem like that...

We did, never solved it either. He got windows Xp from a torrent site and used that.

Was it XP Home or Professional ? Perhaps the later as extra checks in (to prevent companies being a bit naughty).

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

... I thought the BIOS excutes the POST and then passes control to the OS.....

To the hard drive or whatever bootable media is selected. Then the OS is launched.

The BIOS doesn't check for validity.... A certain section of It is checked! This is why an invariably simply cracked BIOS allows a fully pre-validated OEM installation of Vista, Seven and Eight without a (Largely detectable?) "loader".
This is a necessarily simplistic description and I don't think that I'd be allowed to be any more in depth on the subject here.

I am not upgrading, although it does seem a lot are for the sake of it tho.

If I was going to upgrade usually I would sign up for technet for a year but now technet has new TOS where they forbid using keys after cancelling subscription (before wasnt the case).