Thanks Everyone,

Peli- I hear you. I hope I don't have to install XP first.

MiRai- I always appreciate your input. These are the things I am afraid of.

Ugmahedhurtz- I will tuck that advice away. Might come in useful. Still, despite the ebay possibility, the reason I liked the 3-pack Win 7 upgrade option is that
as I have three retail copies of Win XP, it meant that I was basically upgrading to three retail copies of Win 7. That is as long as I have those
original XP discs, I can install as many times as I want and unlike oem Win 7 discs, I can even install on a new computer down the road.

johny_mnemoic- Thanks for affirmation. The only things I am concerned about there is whether there would be performance loss over a clean install. Partly
because my Samsung 830s' manual declares "Samsung recommends that you do a fresh OS install to ensure an optimal operating environment
for your new SSD." So while I know it should work... I am concerned if it will be "optimal".

dOz3rr- I do understand. However, evidently something is evidently left behind that lets the Win 7 upgrade disc know that this was formally an XP disc and
therefore a legitimate upgrade attempt. This is what I am trying to bypass. MicroSoft has made it clear this is perfectly legal as long as retail XP
discs are in hand and not used concurrently.

So, while the consensus seems to be it is possible, I am thinking if I have to go this way I will attempt the clone. Anyone think Samsung's warning can be
taken with a grain of salt?

Thanks to all,

-Grail