M17x - installing new hard drive - Win 7

I'm wondering if one of you gurus can help me...
After 2 months of using my M17x, I got the dreaded hard drive clicking and inevitable failure. My replacement drive is on the way, and I'm wondering if I can install Windows 7 without first installing Vista and the drivers cd that came with the machine. I mean I know I can do this, but I guess what I'm wondering is if there'll be problems going this route, or if it would just be easier to install Vista, then do the driver cd, then Win7. I know it would be better to do the clean install of win7, but I'm not great with driver problems and all that, so I'm wanting a trouble-free install, or as close to it as I can get.
I guess what I'm asking is can I install Windows 7 and then use the driver/resource cd that shipped with the computer even tho that resource cd was created for vista?
Thanks very much for any help

 

Yes, you can install Windows 7 without installing Vista on an upgrade CD.
When installing just go to other options and choose a clean install.
Then afterwards you can install all the drivers for it...in order of course.

 

Technically, you can install Windows 7 from an upgrade CD as long as you have a valid Vista license.

You can use most of the drivers from your Vista CD. However, there have been a few changes to the driver model from Vista to Windows7. I would recommend you download the latest ones from Alienware though

Oh yeah, here is a link with some instructions.

Edit:

The legality of this method has been questioned, but from what I understand, as long as you have a valid Vista license and aren't planning on using it on another computer, you should be in the clear. I'm not a lawyer though.

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

 

Thanks very much for your help and the link...much appreciated and I'm happy to say all went well!