Upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 Without Installation Media

I would say short answer is no.

You can try with ghost builds etc but if the machine doesnt come up then you cant reset or restore the machine.

Is this machine vital in some way..?
You can USB it and then have someone on site plug it in and walk through setup..?

The only way to do this is through SCCM if I'm not mistaken - not an inexpensive option and it could kill your bandwidth.  You'd be better off sending them a new PC.

OK. Thank you for the feedback, guys!

The question is not really clear.

Would you like an inplace-upgrade or installing cleanly? If inplace: keep settings and applications, or not?
If you are not on-site and no one else is, what type of access do you have? RDP/psexec/...?

Please answer that, while considering that you can indeed extraxt windows 7 ISO files to a harddrive and start setup from there.

We have access to this workstation via LogMeIn remote control.

Not looking to wipe & install. Want to upgrade from the current Win XP OS over to Windows 7.

Thanks.

And  (as asked before) is it a requirement to keep installed applications and settings?

This isn't really a "helpful" comment.

but can i ask what is the great need to upgrade this particular machine to Windows 7? is there an application that it cant run or something?

It seems like a lot of effort to upgrade this machine (and upgrades are always messy and cause compatability problems later) unless there is a real need to upgrade it like it cant run certain applications etc.

Perhaps if we know the reason we may have a better solution than the upgrade..?

Sure, Scott. This is an XP workstation and will present a security vulnerability once Microsoft drops support for XP on April 8th. That's why we would like to upgrade to Windows 7.

Makes sense :)

What happens if this machine goes down (ie the install / upgrade fails) will it cause serious issues?
If there is no one who can input the media does it mean that no one uses the machine..? if so perhaps use command prompt or something to shut it down remotely until someone can be there to upgrade it? that way it's off the network and cannot cause any hard..?

Please feedback on my comment as well.

McKnife. We were hoping to keep the applications and settings.

I've requested that this question be deleted for the following reason:

Not enough information to confirm an answer.

That should have been an objection.

I agree w/ Lee W. I will assign points and close now.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Thank you much.   : )

@ Lee W
> It's NOT A GOOD IDEA because there are many potential issues stepping through TWO upgrades with drivers and other applications

I strongly disagree. The drivers are re-detected and the old drivers are not used if not suitable - automatically. About applications: What will not run on 7 will not run no matter if it is an upgrade or a clean installation. There won't be any problems with applications that you don't have with a clean installation. And I am not only sure in theory but did that so many times.

EVEN IF the drivers and other such devices can be made to work TRUSTING upgrades is simply not a good idea.  For stability, the BEST option is always a clean install.

> For stability, the BEST option is always a clean install
I would not be so foolish to disagree ;)
But as for trusting upgrades, practice has taught me something else. We upgraded half the company like this: vista->7->8->8.1 and guess what: no problems. And since this are fat clients with tons of installations and configs, I am sure to say a lot of time was saved this way.

Would likely be faster to just save the configs and script a backup and install procedure. You can always have the odd program that's poorly written, but having such a script allows reloads/new installs to run VERY quickly (have one at a large client - I deploy an image, then run a script answering 3-4 questions and it automatically installs updated apps, apps based on the user's requirements, and sets up and configures things...

I also don't consider 8->8.1 to be much of an upgrade - more of a service pack really.

You don't know our setups. The clients are pumped full with MS developer stuff. Script these? Have fun. The other lot is full of autodesk stuff. These installs are huge (setup files >50GB), they take long, and I mean it. But, no use disputing it: clean installs should be used unless we have valid reasons not to. Just wanted to point out that practice clearly shows upgrades ARE an option and not a bad one.

@8.1 being an upgrade vs servicepack: would you consider 2012 R2 a servicepack to 2012? It's the same code as 8.1.

Yes, I would consider 2012R2 as essentially a Service Pack to 2012.  The same way 2003R2 was essentially a Service Pack (or more like feature add-on) to 2003.  2008 and 2008 R2 were VERY different in my opinion.  You might argue the Hyper-V differences in 2012/2012R2, but I'd remind you of the Hyper-V differences in 2008R2 and 2008R2 SP1.

Even so, these are my opinions... you COULD argue (and I know plenty at MS would) that 8.1 is more than a Service Pack to 8... but at the end of the day, that's what it feels like - a RADICAL redesign of the start menu and they realized it needed adjusting... Update 1 is also like a service pack (if you can get it installed).

There are certain aspects of deployment that can be difficult and if no two (or only two) users are alike, then scripting can be tricky... still, you can find your common products and get those taken care of.  I have a few developers at that client that I support as well... it can depend on what level of customization you (as the IT person) needs to do and what level the end user is responsible for.  In my environment, the end user is responsible for MOST of their settings, our job is to get the apps - SQL, Visual Studio 2010 and 2012, and several other related development tools on the box.  Save the profiles and most settings transfer... those that don't are up to the user to reconfigure.

Just my $0.02 here - While no great fan of using upgrade disks between Windows versions I have rarely seen any issues that weren't insurmountable.  What I have seen (and appreciate this is anecdotal at best) is jumps between two versions causing issues (i.e. XP to 7 via Vista).

When these crop up these have always been where changes have been made on the intermediary platform (Usually some time spent using the intermediary stage and then once again upgrading or applying Vista fixes or "tweaking" installed software to add Vista compatibility patches before applying the final upgrade).  My personal feeling is if you want to go the upgrade route do it the once & be wary "upgrading an upgrade" which has been in use with its registry gradually evolving.  Applying sequential upgrades  at the same time seem to be more stable.*  

*YMMV