Vista 32 to Windows Ultimate 64 bit
Bob,
I recently did a similiar upgrade. My HP desktop had Vista Ultimate 32 bit installed. (BTW I LIKE Vista!). I am currently taking a class at a local community college and was able to buy Windows 7 U;timate 64 bit for a very good price.
I installed Windows 7 with little or no problem. I thought my ATI 4350 video card driver might have been a problem, but the driver was installed! My Epson printer installed without problems, etc.
The ONLY problem I had was with breaking partitions. I can not. The install would not let me change the size. I had kept an XP partition I had (was using it for games). After the install, I tried to delete this partition, but Windows 7 wouldn't allow it. Too many primary partitions, I believe.
Otherwise, I really like Windows 7. It's new, so there are some difference to learn/over come, but no real big deals. I thing I really dislike is IE 8. ARGH. I may try to install IE 7, after my class is done (it's an online class).
And regarding the XP and virtual pc. They are NOT included with windows 7. This is a seperate download. There are 2 files. It's easy to do, just follow the directions on MS's website.
Good luck!