Vista to Win7 Upgrade/Clean Install Questions

So I'm very strongly considering upgrading from my Vista Home Premium up to Windows 7 over the holiday break, and as I've been doing research and looking options up I have come across a great deal of questions.

So my first question stems from clean install methods. Since my Dell Inspiron 1720 came with Vista Home Premium. Is it best to restore my machine to original factory settings (with Vista) and then buy a Win7 Home Premium Upgrade and apply it - or is it best to simply just use the upgrade disc to do a total clean install?

Now, when looking for good prices, I came across the Microsoft student site that is selling the Win7 Professional Upgrade disc for the exact same price as the Win7 Home Premium Upgrade. I figure that if they're charging the same price that I might as well take the better value (Win7 Professional). I am asking to confirm that I would no longer be able to do a upgrade from the Vista Home Premium like I was considering, but would be forced to do a clean install?

In terms of doing the clean install, I have come across some sources that say that a win.old file will be created when you clean install that contains old files. Is that for the clean install or just for the upgrade, because it seems like the clean install would not be doing its job if old files were transferred to the new version directly like that. Anyways, if anyone could enlighten me about how the win.old file works it would be very helpful.

And finally, in terms of security that you all have been putting onto your new Win7 machines, would any of you recommend Microsoft Security Essentials? I have seen some decent reviews of it and would like your opinion as to what to add to Win7.

Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

Thats just for the upgrade that creates Windows old. I have always found that the best way is by doing a clean install, less problems and the machine operates better.

 

Upgrade do not create a Windows.old folder. It is when you do a clean install without wiping the partition first.

If you are considering a clean install with a format/wipe, then it won't really matter if you restore to factory condition will it?

Technically it is possible. I have no idea if it is valid though. The upgrade DVD will have to detect a valid Vista installation.

AFAIK, to be eligible to upgrade/custom install to Windows 7 professional, you need to be running Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate.

I wrote a whole thread about this. Basically, the Windows.old folder is created if you choose to install Windows in a partition containing a previous installation of Windows. For all purposes, those old files in Windows.old are orphaned and pose no threat to your new installation unless you decide to physically move the files to your new Windows installation.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=441314

There are whole threads about MSE. I personally recommend it for its simplicity and adequate protection.

 

Until Win7 I have ALWAYS done a clean install, because the underlying architecture of the old OS and the new one were very different. But in the specific case of Vista and Win 7, such is not the case. The architecture has not changed at all. Code has, of course, but not the architecture. Because of this many folks are treating Win7 as a Vista service pack. (It is NOT a service pack, but very similar, again because of the common architecture.)

I did an in place upgrade with excellent results. I recovered over 9 gb of disk space! That is NOT a typo, 9 gigabytes!

There are two HUGE folders on the C: drive $inPlace.~TR and $Windows.~TR after you do an inplace upgrade. Both can be deleted without issue.

Gary