a) Moving an OEM installation of Windows between computers - or at least, between different motherboards - is at the very least outside the law. The EULA specifically states that you can't change the motherboard (except under specific circumstances and with Microsoft's permission). So unless you have Microsoft's
explicit permission to reinstall on a different motherboard, you are in breach of contract if you reinstall OEM Windows on a computer with a different motherboard, which means you have committed a
civil wrong (a lovely phrase that I have wikipedia to thank for
), making yourself liable to legal action. There is a lot of shading and fuzz in the meaning of terms like illegal, unlawful, and extralegal, including how breaches of civil law should be viewed. However, the action is undeniably wrong.
b) The Student pricing for Windows is only for upgrade versions, which means the computer needs a properly licensed previous copy of Windows (retail or OEM) to use the student upgrades legally. Installing them on a clean system that has never had a previous OS on is also a breach of contract (see above
).