how do you upgrade from xp to 7?

Here is a MS walk through:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7

In short you will be looking at doing a "Fresh" install of the new Windows 7 O.S. You will want to ensure that you back up your data first and foremost, but before you attempt all of this you should download and run the "Windows Advisory" to see if there will be any hardware or software issues.

here is the link:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor

You should be able to start the upgrade from within Windows XP. You tell it to upgrade, and it should restart into the Windows 7 setup. Can you give more information as to where in the process this is failing?

Let me be clear without using links.  You CANNOT directly upgrade from XP to Windows 7.  Windows 7, while the upgrade LICENSE can be legally used, requires you to install cleanly.

The recommended way of installing Windows 7 with XP already on the system is to put the Windows 7 DVD in the DVD drive and start the upgrade/install process.  Windows 7 should "move" the old Windows installation into a "Windows.old" folder and install cleanly on the computer.  Note: once this is done, you CANNOT then restart back into XP (without a LOT of manual "hacking" to restore Windows XP).

There is only one way to truly "UPGRADE" from Windows XP to Windows 7 -- you have to upgrade XP to Vista first.  And any computer professional should tell you that doing that is one of the best ways to have an UNSTABLE system at the end of the process.  A clean install is almost always better.

just my 2 cents -  even if you could, do you have the necessary hardware for running W7 ?
on a single core with 1 Gb Ram it will always be VEEEERY slow

for office 2gb need to comfort work

the thing i needed to do was a custom install.  I thank all of you.