Vista - Upgrade from XP MCE - Possible to Move To A Clean Hard Disk?

I've ordered a new PC - which will initially come with MS XP Media Centre
Edition, but includes a free update to MS Vista which I will probably
receive and install in February. At that time, will it possible to install
Vista on a different, cleanly formatted, hard disk.

Two reasons - firstly I'll have the XP MCE disk as a back-up in case it goes
wrong, and secondly I'd like to transfer it to the Raptor hard disk I'll have
canabailised from my current PC. On previous versions, you could show it the
CD of the previous version as prove that it was a genuine upgrade - but not
sure if Vista will permit this. Alternative approach will be to Ghost the XP
install across to the Raptor and upgrade, but I'd prefer a clean format if
possible.

Hey, worst case: Image copy the current drive to the new blank one,
then do an upgrade install on the new drive (the drive to which you did
the image copy), keeping the original drive as your backup.

There is still, as far as I know, ambiguity about exactly what will and
will not be possible with upgrade versions. And, on top of that, the
upgrades being given to buyers of new PCs may be different from retail
upgrade copies sold in stores (not sure that they will be, but they
might be). Some of these questions may not be answered definitively
until the product is actually shipping next year.

[I also think you are too optimistic about when you will likely receive
the new software; I doubt it will be in Feb.]


Bob H wrote:
> I've ordered a new PC - which will initially come with MS XP Media Centre
> Edition, but includes a free update to MS Vista which I will probably
> receive and install in February. At that time, will it possible to install
> Vista on a different, cleanly formatted, hard disk.
>
> Two reasons - firstly I'll have the XP MCE disk as a back-up in case it goes
> wrong, and secondly I'd like to transfer it to the Raptor hard disk I'll have
> canabailised from my current PC. On previous versions, you could show it the
> CD of the previous version as prove that it was a genuine upgrade - but not
> sure if Vista will permit this. Alternative approach will be to Ghost the XP
> install across to the Raptor and upgrade, but I'd prefer a clean format if
> possible.