Say you've got a server running Windows Server 2003 x86, and you have no CD-ROM drive, and no physical access to the box. The only way to get to it is through RDP. Now, say you want to move it to 64-bit to be able to add more RAM. It should be as simple as mounting an Windows Server x64 ISO and starting the installation from Windows, right?
WRONG, PAL!
You see, installing x64 from inside x86 is not allowed, Microsoft says so. You can't even do a clean install that way. So you're thinking, maybe you could do it with Windows Server 2008. right?
WRONG AGAIN! You can't do a clean install of Windows Server 2008 x64 over Windows Server 2003 x86 either. Any way you slice it, the x64 installer won't even execute on Windows x86.
I have been dealing with this problem for over a year now. My host, ServerBeach, doesn't support x64 installations yet, so I've been SOL. Last week, I set out to find the solution. ServerBeach graciously offered their assistance, since other clients have been asking for this too, and their support has been amazing.
Well, after beating my head against my desk for the past week, today I finally accomplished it: a completely unattended upgrade to Windows Server 2008 x64 from inside Windows Server 2003 x86. It turns out, there are actually two ways this is possible, neither of which is for the faint of heart. Once will only work for WS2008, and the other will work for both WS2003 and WS2008.
Right now, I'm trying to buy new servers in ServerBeach's Texas data center so I can beef up my hosting network, but as soon as I can, I'll be documenting the process step-by-step, so that others may do the same.
I'm so happy right now I could explode. Woo hoo!