Upgrading to Windows 7

[vacanthead]

I have just pre-ordered windows 7 and have a question about installing it on my main machine. It is currently a dual-boot XP/Vista 64 set-up and I was going to install it on the XP partition and then reformat/remove the Vista partition. As I am in Europe and I'm not allowed to use the upgrade version of 7, is the following the correct way to go about it?
1) reformat c: (where XP is installed)
2) install 7 on c:
3) reformat d: (where vista is installed)

My copy of XP I will subsequently use for an HTPC machine I'm going to build.
Do I actually have to reformat the c: drive, or can I just install 7 over it (ie will it ask me to format it anyway during the installation?). I've read it is better to perform a "clean" install, is this correct?
Many thank for your answers,
Paddy

Yes, everything I have read and heard has said to do a "clean install" when dealing with XP.

[MaxRat]

if you dont format both you may get a dual boot with Vista too...

[Jakke1966]

Hi,

I'm a computer technician for the federal goverment of my country, and was recently involved in some testing of Windows 7 to see whether it would be suitable for our needs. (it is!)

I strongly advise you however to remove both other OS's before proceeding! XP can be formatted in the usual way, but Vista is somewhat of a pain: use a wipe disk for this, the DoD wipe is the best.

For the drivers of your Windows 7 machine, you can use the Vista drivers. But windows 7 recognizes A LOT of the hardware!

I hope that M$ isn't going to give you a hard time installing your XP copy on another machine. You could allways slipstream it with the drivers of the machine you plan on installing it on and de-activate the windows activation thingie. Use Nlite for this. Get nlite here: http://www.nliteos.com/

Good luck mate! I can tell you now that you will like Windows 7!! I'm planning on making the move myself when I can find the time for it...

Jakke