July 27, 2008 at 8:59 pm
I am having a problem installing SQL Server 2000 developer edition on a new Windows XP Pro PC. When I run the setup, once I hit "Install database server", the dialog box closes, and the next dialog (to begin the install) never opens. There is no error message, nothing happens (although I can see the sqlstp and setupsql processes running in the task manager). The install CD does work fine on two other XP Pro machines, so it is not the CD. I also tried copying all of the install files to the machine's hard drive to install from there, but the same problem (so it's not the CD drive). I was thinking it had something to do with installshield, so I went to their website and followed all of their troubleshooting steps (reinstalling drivers, etc), but still no luck. I even tried to install remotely over my home network (from one of the machines it worked on), but I kept getting an "invalid UNC path" error when I got to the target directory input step. I have no idea what to do next. Can someone please help me?
July 28, 2008 at 7:22 am
There are any of a number of things that could cause problems, but you haven't been terribly specific. How much RAM is in the target PC, and how much disk space is available? Do those answers differ significantly from the other PC's you've installed on. What Service Pack level is this XP Pro PC at? Are the other PC's at the same SP level? If you haven't yet installed SP2, at least do that before installing ANY kind of product. These are but a few possible things, so please be more specific about the configuration of the machine you're trying to install on, as well as the configurations of the other PC's you've already installed on. Thanks!
Steve
(aka smunson)
:):):)
Steve (aka sgmunson) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rent Servers for Income (picks and shovels strategy)
July 28, 2008 at 11:10 am
RAM and diskspace are definitely not the issue (4GB RAM, 400+ GB free disk space). The machine has XP Pro Version 2002 SP 2; this is the same version of XP Pro as the machine which the disk works on. The problem is not that the install doesn't work, it's that the install dialog box never even appears, so I don't even get the chance to begin the install. I click "Install Database Server" and nothing happens, no error message or any indication of a problem (although as I mentioned, I do notice some additional sql-related processes running in the task manager, and if I try click "Install Database Server" again, I get a "instance of setup is already running" error).
July 28, 2008 at 11:22 am
Ok, so what appears to be happening is that the task is waiting for something. The $64,000 question is what! Check your power saving config and ensure the hard drive is never powered down by that. If that's not it, then there may be a genuine issue with the hard drive itself. Some of the HP models of PC's come with hard drives whose power level is automatically adjusted up and down with system activity, and if that were to go awry, that's another possibility. Another possibility is that something went wrong in the build process. You still haven't mentioned the configuration of the other two machines that succeeded, so there's still the possibility that the build is somehow different for this new machine. There's also the possibility of BIOS differences between machines. Are we even talking about the same exact model of machine? You may want to check for a BIOS update for this new machine. And of course, how about a hard disk driver issue - although that might be somewhat lower on the list of things to look at. Stranger things have happened. Come to think of it, I can remember an issue that was a new rev of a motherboard in the same model of a machine. It was on the SAME BIOS as the machines on the previous rev of said MB, but actually needed a BIOS update, and slipped through manufacturing's fingers without it.
Steve
(aka smunson)
:):):)
Steve (aka sgmunson) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rent Servers for Income (picks and shovels strategy)
July 28, 2008 at 11:51 am
These are different machines; the target machine is a (brand new) Dell XPS 630i (the machines it worked on were Dell Dimension 4700 & Latitude D630). Per you advice, I modified the power settings to never shut down hard drive and updated the BIOS w/ a download from Dell's website http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&os=WW1&osl=en&catid=&impid=&SystemID=XPS_630I
Unfortunately, neither of these modifications fixed the issue. I didn't see any driver updates related to the hard disk - I'm not sure how I would go about checking into this. What additional details are you looking for on the configurations?
July 28, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I was looking to see if they were identical to the new machine or not. Knowing they're different leads to questions about the build process for the operating system for the new machine. Did Dell build the system or are you building the opsys? If all the Dell drivers are up to date, but the machine is relatively new from Dell, there's always the possibility that this is a genuine gotcha of some kind, and that a future driver update might resolve it. A couple of ways to test:
1.) If you have another identical new machine available, try installing to that new machine and see if the problem repeats.
2.) Replace the optical drive of the new machine or try installing from a network share, just in case it's the combination of optical drive and the specfic CD you have, or even try another install CD just in case it's the CD having a weak spot somewhere.
3.) Acquire a machine identical to either of the other two PC's that were successful, and attempt an install on said machine.
If you can do all 3 tests, great, but the most valuable ones would be the first two, as that would likely tell you where the problem is coming from.
As to the disk driver, just use Device Manager and right click on any of the hard disk drives under "Disk Drives". Then click on the driver tab. Because most systems rely on the drivers that Microsoft provides, this is a relatively low likelihood unless the driver isn't Microsoft's.
Any time a new model of machine comes out, you might be surprised at how often a strange bug turns up, and it might well be a month or two before there's general recognition of the problem, because some of these testing methods are often only performed by really large companies that can afford lots of spare hardware hanging around or can afford extensive test environments. Hope that helps.
Steve
(aka smunson)
:):):)
Steve (aka sgmunson) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rent Servers for Income (picks and shovels strategy)
July 28, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Dell built the system. Looking at the release dates of all the driver updates on Dell's website (earliest is 3/2008), the 630i looks like it may be a relatively new model.
I don't have another XPS 630i available, so test 1 is not an option.
I had already tried test 2 (to no avail).
As for test 3, I could get a hold of some other D630's to test, however, I don't think it would be worthwhile (I assume it would work OK on any of them).
I'll check out the hard disk driver later tonight, but it doesn't sound too promising. Any other ideas on how to get install working?
The remote install over my home network seemed promising, but I kept getting a "invalid UNC path" error when I entered the target path (\\OLMIEINC_HOME\SQL_INST) - the path works fine in file explorer to access the target machine. (Also, windows doesn't allow you to share the "Program Files" directory over a workgroup, so I couldn't install to this ideal location). Any ideas on what the problem could be here?
July 28, 2008 at 3:09 pm
On the network install, I would suggest mapping a drive letter from the machine "to be installed on" to the installation source. Then go to a DOS command prompt, and go the installation source's setup directory and type in the name of the .exe file that runs the setup program. That should solve any UNC issues. UNC's don't always work well, so it's usually better to use a drive letter. I'm not sure why - it's just been one of those givens for so many years and I've never had an explanation.
Not sure what else you can do except possibly contact Dell and identify the issue. Something has to be hanging the process. Another alternative is to let it start and wait overnight to see if it frees up somehow. You may not know how long it takes, or be assured that the process won't hang up somewhere further down the line.
The only other thing I can think of is some missing piece that's part of the requirements for installation, or that the process that checks to see if your hardware meets specs is failing somehow. That's probably a call to Microsoft, and seeing as how you paid for the Developer Edition, I would like to think they would support a question of that nature without cost, but then, this IS Microsoft we're talking about, so don't count on it.
Oh, almost forgot. There may be a setup option for each individual piece of SQL Server, so you might be able to install it with each individual setup program. Of course, then you need the proper order in which to run those installs. Microsoft's website ought to have info on that. That would at least get around the hardware checking piece, which might well be where the grief is. Again, this could be a driver issue and newness of the hardware and it's driver. Otherwise, it sounds like you've exhausted most resources. Let me know how you make out with this.
Steve
(aka smunson)
:):):)
Steve (aka sgmunson) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rent Servers for Income (picks and shovels strategy)
July 29, 2008 at 7:06 am
I finally got it working! Some other software wasn't playing nice (not sure exactly which one) - I went into msconfig and disabled all non-critical services / software and the install worked.
July 29, 2008 at 7:15 am
Fantastic! Glad you got it working. Hopefully, this process of exchanging ideas was the progenitor for the idea to disable non-critical services. I can't tell you how often the mere opportunity to bounce ones idea off another has resulted in a change of mindset such that I was then able to derive a solution to a problem that had otherwise confounded all attempts.
Steve
(aka smunson)
:):):)
Steve (aka sgmunson) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rent Servers for Income (picks and shovels strategy)
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