A quick question... when installing win7 64 upgrade version, should i completely install vista64 (with / without updates) and then install upgrade to win7 or just install win7 with the quick boot method. Am i missing anything in vista?. Also as a secondary question should i install hardware (soundcards ect... ) under vista or just install into win7 once it is finally installed. Anyone have any experience with redoing their systems? As a quick note this computer is for fsx only... no mail but lite internet. Will build a new system too handle those chores.Thanks in advanceSteve

I'm not quite sure I understand the question, especially about the hardware, but I never do an "upgrade installation." I always do a clean installation of the new OS.Could you explain what you mean about the hardware? Everything is going to need a driver for Windows 7, which may or may not be included with Windows itself. As long as the network card has a driver, you can always download whatever drivers you need after the installation. Although, I always find the drivers I need beforehand and have them ready on another drive.

I also would do a clean install and not an upgrade. A clean install is not going to take anymore time and an upgrade can cause problems.Since Win7 will need Win7 drivers you might as well install any optional hardware after you have installed Win7. Like SirDrexl said, make sure you have all your drivers before you start.

Thanks again... I bought a soundblaster pcie card that evidently lacks decent drivers for win7. Something Creative Labs is not concerned about giving updated drivers for, as the last update was over year ago and even win7 has updated to service release So thats last creative product i buy... was a great fan of, just sucks 150.00 dollars down drain. Any hows... the vista drivers work well from forum research. I was basically wondering if win7 was missing important elements of vista for it to work correctly. I had win7 working for three months on a clean install , but something not working correctly, just couldnt put finger on it... so i decided to rebuild win7 and now fsx(last rebuild took about a month) Steve

Steve,Generally it is recommended to do a clean install rather than a upgrade. You will have to go backwards in a way. If you are trying to upgrade a copy of Microsoft® Vista operating system then you would have to make sure everything including the two service packs are installed before using the upgrade method. Sort of backward approach if you willing to spend a day away doing it that way. A clean install of Microsoft® Windows 7 operating should only take about twenty minutes. And couple hours to install drivers for your mother board and all the updates. Before you do anything make sure you have the drivers for the motherboard. It sort sucks to start something and you do not have them. :( Just a heads up, I would suggest two software tools before installing FSX and any addons. They are from here at Windows® Sysinternals.The two tools I would suggest you get are Autoruns and Process Explorer. These two items can help you narrow down anything is effecting your startup and taking up resources on your system. The soundcard issue, if there is Microsoft® Windows Vista operating system drivers listed then use them. They generally work under Microsoft® Windows 7 operating system. Or even if you install Microsoft® Windows 7 operating system then use the Windows Update. Sometimes it looks over your system and looks for those drivers.Oh one more thing, I noticed in your signature what you have. That is quite a bit of addons. Do you have enough HD space for them? You might be surprised how fast all that adds up when installing it. Good luck.7