A question for the forum Computer Geeks

[YerK]

If I have a PC that runs on Vista (Ya. I know. UGH!) and I have purchased a copy of Winblows 7, do I need to format the drive to dump all of the Vista for certain, or should I be able to load the W7 over the top of the Vista I already have?

(Long story as to why I did not buy the upgrade version omitted)

[Mynock]

I'd take the time to format. You're going to overwrite everything on the drive anyway you might as well make sure it's clean first.

[Woody]

Yes, you would be wise to do a clean install, especially Vista has a number of problematic configuration quirks that could carry over in an upgrade.

Just be sure to back up important files like photographs, music, videos, email and documents (MS Office, OpenOffice, Adobe PDF files, etc).

[YerK]

I was afraid I would get a lot of agreement on that idea. *sigh*.

[Duncan Edwards]

I have installed W7 over Vista several times without issue. Love it.

[bart1997]

.

[Duncan Edwards]

You CAN upgrade from Vista to Win 7. I RECOMMEND to do a CLEAN INSTALL with any new operating system. That's all!

Agreed but if you've got a crapload of apps and data that you can't or don't want to reinstall an in place upgrade sure makes life easier. I've done it 32 and 64 bits in a business environment and been very surprised about how easy and stable it has proven to be.

[MuddyEddie]

Doing an upgrade isn't an issue from Vista to Win7. The only way I'd do a complete reformat is if there was something wrong with the Vista install.

It's sort of like replacing your carpet and painting the walls: Do you also want to replace all the furniture? If the furniture is in good shape, then leave it alone!

Eddie

[bart1997]

.

[YerK]

As it turns out, you can't upgrade from Vista64Ultimate to W7 Home Premium. I wound up having to do a complete new install. Working great so far, though!