I have around 300 Windows XP Professional with SP3 client machines (domain computers) which need to be migrated to Windows 7 Professional with SP1. Manual backup and fresh installation is an option but I wonder how to use MDT 2012 refresh scenario. Unfortunately on these machines usually there are many user profiles, data are stored everywhere - not only in user profile but all across C and D partition (on each machine locations are usually different). Also beside common applications which are installed on each machine there are many custom applications which depend on user department. Even version of applications (both common and custom) may differ.
In my opinion this is nightmare scenario but it needs to be solved somehow. What can be done? I would like to use MDT 2012 refresh scenario with USMT 4 and hard links but honestly I have never done it before.
Gathering information about all these applications, redeploying them silently via MDT 2012 Task Sequence, preserving all these data, keeping current partition sizes (I do not know whether TS for deploying Windows 7 which normally formats and creates partitions will do that if used with hard links) and also since Windows XP does not have 100 MB system partition how to create that partition in refresh scenario?
Please help, I read that hard links in USMT 4 (MDT 2012) and whole refresh scenario is very mighty tool of MDT 2012 and is widely used for migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7.
And by the way I have many branch offices so majority of client machines are not in the same location as MDT 2012 machine, so I will probably need to copy deployment share to those locations or to create media. I think I know how to do that in new computer scenario but as I said I have never done refresh scenario.