Windows 7: Win 7 still tops

So have lots of Service Packs and Windows Updates? What if someone needed to do a clean install of their OS, and they didn't have a image available to use, then wouldn't they need to spend hours installing all the Windows Updates and Service Packs again?

We've always been able to upgrade between Windows operating systems that are chronologically next to each other; for example it's very simple to upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows 98 (or Windows Me!), Windows 2000 to Windows XP, Windows Vista to Windows 7, and so forth.

However, when you're talking operating systems with a few (if not several) versions between them, like Windows 2000 vs. Windows 7 or Ubuntu 6 vs. Ubuntu 12, it's probably a better idea to just install anew from technical and ease-of-use standpoints.

A fun thing to consider when talking about this is Windows's internal version number. The numbers increment on a logical version numbering system like so: Windows NT 4.0 is 4.0, Windows 2000 is 5.0 while Windows XP is 5.1, Windows Vista is 6.0 while Windows 7 is 6.1 and Windows 8 is 6.2. As a result, Windows 7 is effectively Windows NT 6.1.

Sounds good in theory but I can see a few pitfalls in that approach. Drivers for hardware would be one big one. Depending on what that last update did or didn't do you may need this driver or that driver. Or a new driver may need to be written. There has to be something that defines what "Windows" you had before the update and what "Windows" you have now so you can get the correct driver. It's going to effect program compatibility too. You can't just call it Windows and keep changing its core files etc. There has to be some kind of mile marker or version number so you know where you're at.

I would have thought that a clean install from a Windows SP1 install Disc or ISO would have been manageable. But I would make sure I had an image available except for an install on new hardware.