Windows Vista Old HD for enclosure

Hello all. This is the first post for me. I have built several computers for use in my home in the past, and although not an expert by any means, I know a little about them. I recently took the plunge, and updated my OS to Vista using the upgrade disk. I have a couple questions concerning this. First, should I ever need to do a complete wipe of my hard drive and reinstall Vista, will I need to first install Windows XP and then install Vista with the upgrade disk, or can I just install it without XP?

Second, I have several old hard drives laying around collecting dust, and I was thinking of getting an external HD housing and using one of them for system backups, music and picture files. Each of the disks has either Windows 98, or XP installed on them as they were from previous computers I had built or upgraded. What is the procedure to format them using Vista? I am still new to the OS, and havent yet had the pleasure of formatting a HD with it. Thanks in advance for the info.

 

Thanks. Its been a while since I had done a format. I think the last time I did one was in W98. I dont remember typing anything like dskmgt, so thats new to me. Im surprised how well Vista has worked for me. Figured it would be the nightmare that XP was when I was one of the first ones to try it.

I had heard that you could install it from the upgrade DVD by doing it twice, but couldnt find the info. Thanks.

Heres a little info on the desktop (from memory)
Gigabyte GA-M56S-S3
AMD X2 5200+
Soundblaster Audigy?
BFG GTX260
4G Corsair Memory 2 sticks
Thermaltake 650 watt power supply

It does pretty good in games and such. Runs most of them ok with full settings. I think it is bottlenecked by the older mobo and processor though, but for now it keeps up.