This blog is news about the chart Microsoft released for Windows 7. The chart shows how you will upgrade from Windows Vista OR XP to 7 depending on which bit version you have (so 32 and 64 bit) as well as which model (Home Basic/Premium, Business or Ultimate). If you are running certain models of Vista, you will get an In-Place upgrade, whatever that means. If you are running other models, you will have to do a custom install.
Now here's the issue. Anybody using XP has to do a custom install no matter what version or model. So this is actually one bonus to Vista for once instead of it being missed off for everything compatibility wise and being mentioned as shit all the time.
If you use XP, you have to "
back up, wipe your drive, and reinstall a totally clean copy of 7". Well that's lame.
I'm not rubbing it into XP's users faces, just thought I'd let you know.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/06/official-windows-7-upgrade-chart-is-ridiculous/
"This is seriously Microsoft's Windows 7 upgrade chart, and it's ridiculous. It manages to highlight the insanity of shipping multiple OS versions while totally minimizing the good news: most Vista users will be able to upgrade in place to the corresponding 32- or 64-bit version of 7. That should cover the vast majority of people running Vista, but if you're still on XP or you're trying to do anything out of the ordinary you'd better get ready for some pain: all those ominous blue boxes require you to back up, wipe your drive, and reinstall a totally clean copy of 7. You heard that right -- the Windows 7 installer won't even try to retain your data and programs if you're not updating from the corresponding version of Vista. Pretty lame move, considering Microsoft is currently selling millions of copies of XP on netbooks and will sell XP downgrades until 2011 -- sure, we get that most netbook owners aren't going to spring for 7, but it's insane that you can't just pop in a disc and upgrade. Of course, now that 7's been released to manufacturing and the final bits are available there's not much to be done, so let's all just take a moment to contemplate the fact that Ed Bott at ZDNet managed to totally outdo Redmond's infographics people with a much friendlier chart with "about an hour" of work -- check it below."
Here's the more complicated version:
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/08/8-06-09win7chart2.jpg 
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If you use XP, you have to "back up, wipe your drive, and reinstall a totally clean copy of 7". Well that's lame.
Not really. After a year and a half on my computer, it could use a good scrubbing.
Yeah, but you should have done that anyway :P I do it every 2 -4 months or something
Whenever you install a new OS you are way better off wiping everything and starting fresh so this is no big deal really.
Yes but I know Vista users on here and XP users and some might want to keep their settings. Kind of helpful that.
Plus it's MUCH faster installing.
"If you use XP, you have to "back up, wipe your drive, and reinstall a totally clean copy of 7". Well that's lame. "
As said already, Windows OS "upgrades" should have been killed back with Win95 --> Win98. As someone that acted as a PC tech to pick up some extra cash through schooling, upgrades ALWAYS caused more problems then they were worth.
@JAMNON
I haven't closely followed this, but isn't Windows 7 basically an optimized version of Vista?
I NEVER upgrade. I always wipe the drive clean. Mainly because windows has so many problems that can only be solved by reinstalling the entire OS, I never leave anything on the drive I don't mind losing.
@Vengefulpenor: Essentially, yes. Vista was microsoft's dirty way of beta testing Windows 7 on the public, all while charging money for the OS. Remember Windows ME? That was basically XP beta. I think they use the profit from Vista to pay for R&D to finalize the OS. Also, I've tried both and Windows 7 RC still has many of the problems vista does.
Windows upgrades have, like... very little chance of suceeding.
And Win7 is Vista with a new UI and a slightly more up-to-date kernal. Benchmarks prove it, it's no faster or lighter. Why is it better than vista? It's not, it's just vista has improved so much from RTM it's not even funny.
Backing up isn't THAT big a deal. Then again, I keep most of my personal data on a separate partition...
Wow! I'm still on XP and this makes me never want to upgrade. I'll just wait till I get a new ocmputer.
@PhazonYoshi
Yeah, I've always been under the impression that Windows 7 was being made because Vista's name has become volatile and difficult to sell.
Vista has been cleaned up extremely well but it's still difficult to shake the bad press it got early in it's life.