XP to 7

I have received the email offer from Microsoft to pre-order 7 for half off. Unfortunately I read that if you have XP you have to install the upgrade on the same partition as XP. That's not a clean install to me. Does anyone know if that means I'm going to have a dual boot setup or what? With only 2 weeks left to pre-order I'd like to get this figured out. Also whats the deal with how many times you can upgrade your hardware? I read that it's a one time thing. Anyone?

and what would be the difference if you clean install a vista or an xp its still a clean install?
Good question I need the answer also? I've read someplace that an oem isn't ever needed that an upgrade edition will always work if installed correctly?

I share the confusion New egg is saying you can upgrade from XP or Vista but I swear I remember microsoft stating that for XP a fresh install is needed.

I definately read that to upgrade from XP to 7 will absolutely require a clean instal and that you will be able to upgrade from the comparable version of Vista to 7.

You will need a fresh install from XP because the file systems aren't even remotely the same anymore. That doesn't mean you cannot buy this upgrade disk and use it. All that means is that you will have to back up all your data onto an external media, wipe the disk and then clean install the new operating system. You will then have to reinstall all your programs with vista/7-compatible versions.

so to confirm what you are saying is that a fresh install can be done on a xp machine with the upgrade disc.

This is what i am trying to clear up. I'm hoping that what I read is incorrect. I hope it is like the previous upgrades where all it needs to do is verify that you have a legit copy of XP. I'm still looking for the original article.

Yes, you can perform a clean install and still activate it with an Upgrade Disc.. This is why you should never pay full price for an OS.. It's pretty common knowledge now but it was a kind of underground "trick" a few years ago.. It's easy to do... I'm not going to get into the details here but if anyone would like to know how it's done, just pm me and I'll let you know..