Troubleshooting MSDE 2000 installation issues

MSDE 2000 had numerous reported installation issues. This TechByte will cover some of the issues and possible solutions.

Cannot install without a secure SA password
MSDE 2000 will not install without a secure SA password. There is no method in the GUI installer to specify the password, so instead it must be specified at run-time. We recommend installing MSDE using a setup.ini file so you don't have to enter bunch of command-line parameters. Our typical setup.ini file looks like this:

[Options]
SAPWD="Enter-A-Secure-Password"
DATADIR ="C:\AltirisDB\"
INSTANCENAME="INSTANCE"
SECURITYMODE=sql
DISABLENETWORKPROTOCOLS=0

Change the SAPWD option to reflect a secure password of your choice. Also enter your preferred INSTANCENAME. To install MSDE you then run:

setup.exe /settings setup.ini /L*v logfilename

We recommend logging the install as the log can be very handy in troubleshooting installation issues, but in verbose mode it will take up to 2MB.

Installation fails
If the installation fails, it can cause problems which prevent future installs of MSDE from installing as well. Troubleshooting the installation should begin with reviewing the log file.

It is easy to latch onto the MainEngineThread is returning 1603 error which appears in the logs on a failed install, however this error is only signifying that the installation has failed. Search the log file for "Return value 3" and scan the 10 to 20 lines before this for better information on why the installation failed.

One of the most common issues with failed re-installation of MSDE is because old files from a previous install still exist. These files must be moved or deleted for the installation to complete.

Did it actually install?
Once MSDE is installed the installation window simply vanishes. There is no indication that it installed successfully. Check the logs to make sure that the installation completed successfully, then start the service.

Author: ASAK
Created: Mar 8 2006
Categories: MSDE/SQL Server Express
TechByte #127

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