Windows 7: Windows 7 installation formats my other hard drives

I have windows vista ultimate 64bit and have 3 sata hard drives and very important information on 2 hard drives and vista on the other one drive letter as c:/. When installing windows 7 will it format all hard drives or is it the same installation as vista and only formats the drive I select as C:/?

When installing an OS, the setup routine will only format the drive or partition that you select.

?Windows 7 will not format your HDD unless you ask or tell it to.

If those are really 3 hard drives (rather than 3 partitions), you can always unplug the other 2 drives (the physical cables or in the BIOS) to be 100% sure.

First let me say, "Welcome To The Seven Forums."
Second: all the ideas presented here are great, but if you are still unsure then you can brows the SF Tutorials. There is a great deal of information in the tutorials for those who are looking for help with Win 7.

Also, if would, please fill in your "System Specs." This would be of great value to those who can help you later down the line if you should have any further questions. Thanks. Lee

No point in even worrying about it, to be honest. Just unplug them, and then you'll be sure. For the record, no they wouldn't be formatted, unless you directed the installer to do so.

It would be nice to change the title of this thread since the information it presents is not correct, even for the OP. As it is, it might scare people.

I just had this verified by MS MVP's on Technet: You can clean install upgrade to a primary formatted second hard drive just as though it is another partition. No other drives should be attached. Start the Upgrade from an activated XP/Vista/RC* drive and custom install to other drive, then remove the first drive and plug the second Windows 7 drive into it. If the bootloader is put on the first drive, run Startup repair.

*MS announced recently you can use the RC to launch Windows 7 upgrade for a clean install only. Be sure to image your final upgraded install since otherwise you will need to use XP or Vista to reinstall after RC expires in June.

Could you explain that please.

The title would lead a reader to believe that the Windows 7 installer formatted all of his connected hard drives. Given how Microsoft suffered from misinformation spreading around, a title change wouldn't be a bad idea.