Vista Update and "the clean install"

So I received my Dv6000t, like everyone else it seems, in mid Jan. I signed up for the Vista upgrade right away. Now, I have two questions.
1. Has anyone received the upgrade or do you know a time frame that I will receive it based on when I signed up?

2. I have been reading about the clean install. I have followed threads to Microsoft and all over the place. I am not sure what to believe. Is the upgrade a clean install. And What exactly does that mean. Fresh without all the buddled crap with it? Or just with crap but as a new deleted Hard drive? Forgive my lack of knowledge on the subject. If this is not a clean install when it arrives. What is the best means of installing so that I get the best performance?

I guess these are several small questions with 2 main topics. But as always, all help and ideas are appreciated.

Thanks, Michael

 

1. They haven't started shipping the Express Upgrades yet, and I haven't heard an exact date given. Hopefully by the end of the month the first will go out, but it could just as easily be mid-March before they start to go out. And they're supposed to go out in the order ModusLink authenticated them, so ones ordered in mid January won't be at the top of the list, either. Sorry for the bad news on that one.

2. The retail upgrade keys will not let you perform a standard clean install. You have to have some form of Windows 2000, XP, or Vista on the hard drive to install Vista using a retail upgrade key. That's what everyone is talking about and what the workarounds address. The Express Upgrade discs and key may or may not have that same limitation -- since the haven't been sent out yet I don't know ahy way to say for sure. I imagine they will have the same limitations as the retail upgrades. but that's just a guess. Also, the Express Upgrades are designed to update your BIOS, back up your data, uninstall any non-Vista-compatible programs, and then do an inplace upgrade -- definitely not a clean install.

 

So no Clean install? Is the only way to buy a full version copy. That sucks. I should have waited a month to buy my computer. If I only knew.
If anyone has any luck or knew information, I would appreciate any and all.
Thanks

 

Well, you can do the "workaround" by installing Vista without a product key, then booting from the Vista DVD, letting it find the existing Vista partition, and reformatting and installing. That's a clean install. It just takes two installs to do it.

 

Great! That sounds like a good idea. Is it worth it? I am under no time issues here.
Has anyone else been doing this?

 

Check out http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070201 , scroll down to "Top Story."

 

thanks hayamaguchi, that seems to be the consensus but its nice to see it outlined like that.

 

Well I can give you my experience as far as puting Vista Ultimate on my DV6058CL. My initial thoughts was to actually restore the computer and do an upgrade install after that, but by booting from Vista CD, I was given the option, after it checked for upgrade eligablity, to format the drives or even erase the partitions.

I erased both partitions, incuding the HP restore. (if I ever need to restore that I still have the HP DVDs I made). Formatted Installed a Clean install. Installed the drivers...bam. Done. Took all of about an hour and a half.

One thing I can Highly recomend is that Vista has this great Backup CD maker. Once you install it and get your Applications just how you like it, Vista will make a full restorable backup to some recordable media or External hard drive. Looks to be lovely for reinstalling if everything goes crazy someday.