So I was told today that when upgrading to Windows 7 from Vista, the 7 OS installs on top of Vista and all files and programs remain in place. The only thing that changes is the OS itself. Has anyone here done this upgrade? If so, how did it go?

I was considering getting a new monitor, but if upgrading to Windows 7 is really as easy as they claim, I might do that instead.

It depends on the level of Vista and 7. I haven't been able to do the upgrade because I have Vista Home Premium and our campus offers Windows 7 professional. I'd have to do a clean install (erase my computer's OS and install it from scratch)...not worth the hassle in my opinion.

The same applies in reverse. If you have Vista professional/Ultimate and are installing Windows 7 home, then a clean install must be done as Professional/Ultimate have features that an inferior version (Home) does not have.

Gotcha. But going from Vista Home Premium to 7 Home Premium would involve the simplified process I described?

Yes as long as they have the same architecture (as in x86/32bit vs x64/64bit)

That brings up another question. Is the 64bit version of 7 worth the trouble of the more involved installation process, or should I stick with the 32bit version?

Or, once I have the 32bit version of 7 up and running, will the 7 Anytime Upgrade capability then allow me to switch to the 64bit version?

I don't think you can upgrade from 32 to 64 without doing a complete install. I went from 32 to 64-bit because I had 4GB RAM and wanted to do a complete format and reinstall anyway. If you plan on keeping your PC for a while, definitely consider upgrading. 64-bit will soon be the standard for OSs. Weigh up how many programs you have installed and how long it would take to reinstall them all again.

There are only a few programs that I use on a regular basis, but the biggest thing holding me back is having to reinstall and retweak FSX and all of the addons I have for it.

Trust me, I didn't have to do a single thing. When I upgraded from 32-bit, the install automatically backed up all of my old program files into a directory called windows.old. All I needed to do from that point on was to reinstall each program's basic components and then copy the program files over. It's honestly as if I never even re-installed the programs, and they all work perfectly (yes, even FSX and FS9).

So after the upgrade, would you say that 7 has been a better OS than Vista? I've been having so many problems with Vista (not so much on the Sim), the issues with updates and security are unbelievable. I've been actually contemplating of going back to XP but if 7 is stable and gives you no issues maybe I'll install that instead!

Definitely go for it! 7 is a lot better than Vista and I would say XP also.