If I install a free OS replacing my Windows Vista until I can upgrade to Windows 7 will I still be able to get the $119 upgrade as long as I have my license key?

Just do a partition install if you’re worried. I haven’t heard of a flavor of Linux that wouldn’t permit that.

I think the upgrades check for a previous install before installing. So if you nuke the drive to install something like Ubuntu you might be out of luck unless you reinstall Vista first.

“Despite what you may hear or read from blogs, you will need to have a Full License version of Windows 7 if you wish to install it on a blank hard drive. An upgrade license requires the presence of a previous, qualifying Windows operating system, such as Windows XP or Windows Vista that is genuine and properly activated.” From here.

I thought I would need the old drive with the old Windows on it when I rebuilt a machine last weekend. I replaced the old mobo that had memory controller issues and replaced the old spinning drive with a SSD. I was able to put Windows 7 on the new bare SSD drive.
I had the old drive (with XP on it) available but not plugged in at all and the install never asked for more than the new product ID from the new ‘Upgrade’ Windows 7.
Your mileage may vary.

The real question is why you’d want to upgrade to Windows 7 after switching to a flavor of Linux. That’s more of a “downgrade” isn’t it?

@gorillapaws The thing is that most software is developed for Windows, and not all of it has a Linux analogue.

split the drive in two. First partition is windows, other partitions is Linux.

@Nullo That is what WINE is for.

@jerv I’m still trying to get the hang of WINE. Gots my printer using it, I think, but so far that’s it..

***update to my previous answer: DOES NOT WORK***
My activation has decided it is invalid now, and it knows it was a clean install. The “remedy” is to install XP back on the machine and then install windows 7 over that. If I find a better solution I’ll post again, but all the support drones say that is all there is to it, no way out.

Aha ! If you can’t/don’t want to reinstall the older Windows, the activation support line won’t help you, they will give you the standard line that the old windows must be on the machine during install of 7.
However, (we knew it was possible didn’t we?) A fine rep at the customer support number asked lots of questions then had me run msdt and enter a particular solution number (case specific) that will then allow activation with your product key. A pain in the butt, but took a lot less time than the prescribed solution to install the old Windows, then install the upgrade.
Again, your mileage may vary, be prepared to describe your case in some detail.

IMO, if Microsoft wants to treat all of their customers like they’re criminals, when it turns out that your key is valid and they’ve basically falsely accused you of being a pirate and wasted a ton of your time, there should be a MASSIVE apology and restitution in the form of free software upgrades or something like that. If a department store wrongly accused you of shoplifting, had you held against your will—wasting your time and searched, only to discover there’s no missing merchandise, you can bet your ass they would be embarrassed, apologetic, and giving you tons of discounts or other forms of generosity.

@gorillapaws ..not really disagreeing with you but I did cajole the “upgrade” into doing a clean install on a clean drive, so technically I did not follow the prescribed procedure – AND fairly the “upgrade” did not find remnants of XP where it should have been able to.

The MS rep did not give me a hard time and the questions were reasonable.
Note that mine was a genuine upgrade install, just not done ‘normally’. So I had honest answers that satisfied them, no problem.
There are probably lots of folks out there trying to get away with a new install w/o old Windows and frankly MS have a right to discourage that.

I feel spoiled for the years that I ran XP from a full, non-OEM install CD. The only catch is that its an older disc, so I need to install SP2 every time, but I have never had my activation denied.

While Microsoft has the right to discourage piracy, the truth is that they (along with just about everyone else that attempts DRM/copy protection) don’t slow pirates down yet cause massive problems for law-abiding users.