The most persistent problem that has plagued my entire Beta experience with the new range of .NET Framework 2.0 development products has been the arm-biting installation procedures, and failures, with SQL Server 2005. Express or not, it seems removal of those programs and components never does it cleanly, always leaving some residue of the previous build will thwart the successfully installation of the next release.
Based on the documentation of others who have experienced the same annoyance, I had some success following different methods to get them installed properly. I shall not provide links since I have forgotten where I obtained what instructions to fix which situations (been a long time back).
Recently though, the testing of Visual Studio 2005 July and August CTPs, and now the RC itself, still proves this a well-hidden virus that Microsoft has no vaccine to apply with its setup procedure. (I actually also have problems with the Visual J# Redistributable Package 2.0 Beta 2 component but I shall not elaborate on that for the sake of keeping this oriented around SQL Server 2005 installation). No matter how many times I uninstall everything related to .NET 2.0, I still end up with failure to install the Express Edition.
C:\Documents and Settings\Aaron.Seet\Local Settings\Temp\dd_vserror80.txt
[10/11/05,18:56:41] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: [2] Component Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86 returned an unexpected value.
[10/11/05,18:56:48] VS70pgui: [2] DepCheck indicates Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86 is not installed.
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: [2] Component Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86 returned an unexpected value.
[10/12/05,08:13:48] VS70pgui: [2] DepCheck indicates Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86 is not installed.
"Unexpected value"? What value? Try peeking around the detailed 5MB+ installation log
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite - ENU\Logs\dd_vsinstall80.txt
[10/12/05,08:10:54] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CreateProcess launched with cmd linew:\vs\setup\..\wcu\sse\SQLEXPR32.EXE "w:\vs\setup\..\wcu\sse\SQLEXPR32.EXE" -q /norebootchk /qn reboot=ReallySuppress addlocal=all instancename=SQLEXPRESS SCCCHECKLEVEL=IncompatibleComponents:1 SQLAUTOSTART=1 ERRORREPORTING=2 /watsongenman=SQL???.mft
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: w:\vs\setup\..\wcu\sse\SQLEXPR32.EXE exited with return value 28086
[10/12/05,08:13:43] InstallReturnValue: GFN_MID SSE x86, 0x6db6
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Setup.exe: AddGlobalCustomProperty
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: ***ERRORLOG EVENT*** : Component Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86 returned an unexpected value.
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({BBE1827C-F2FD-4FDA-A6D6-C83B62FFFDCA})
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CGenericComponent::LaunchWatson() - Obtained CSetupWatson instance
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({B8A13F14-4BDE-4EC4-A53C-8E51FBB8261F})
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: ISetupManager::GetGlobalCustomProperty() failed to find global prop in CGenericComponent::GetGlobalCustomProperty()
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({4F8791EE-486F-44B5-952B-F28F9FD58BD0})
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: ISetupManager::GetGlobalCustomProperty() failed to find global prop in CGenericComponent::GetGlobalCustomProperty()
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CGenericComponent::LaunchWatson() - Using manifest:
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CGenericComponent::LaunchWatson() - Manifest does not exist after Run; Skipping this report
[10/12/05,08:13:43] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CGenericComponent::LaunchWatson() - Completed
[10/12/05,08:13:44] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({2B7DE335-914B-476F-AF77-E9EF03938188})
[10/12/05,08:13:44] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({2B7DE335-914B-476F-AF77-E9EF03938188})
[10/12/05,08:13:44] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: Pending Reboot Table state : Logging start
[10/12/05,08:13:44] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: _________________________________________
[10/12/05,08:13:44] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: There are no queued up pending reboot entries.
[10/12/05,08:13:44] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({D6B8FD61-6E36-489E-A9EF-A04CC202C14F})
It appears the value = 28086 from SQLEXPR32.EXE but unfortunately I couldn't find anybody posting any details revolving round this detail. With no useful information to work on, I proceeded to remove the components that did get installed:
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 CTP
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Mobile Developer Tools
Microsoft SQL Server Native Client
Microsoft SQL Server Setup Support Files
Microsoft SQL Server VSS Writer
It was during this setup did I encounterd warning dialogs that mentioned "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Tools Express Edition CTP" would be affected if I uninstalled some of them. Wait a minute.... I don't have that installed on my system. Or at least, it was removed a long time ago!
A manual comb through the Registry revealed scraps of litter lying around
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\983B05722D2A359499AC721C2F8A6EDF
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\983B05722D2A359499AC721C2F8A6EDF
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{2750B389-A2D2-4953-99CA-27C1F2A8E6FD}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Setup
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\SQLEXPRESS
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\Folders (revealing a folder location in C:\WINDOWS\Installer\{2750B389-A2D2-4953-99CA-27C1F2A8E6FD})
I removed the above-listed keys, plus some others carrying the same identifiers as above relating to the Express Tools component (which may have been extraneous so I won't list them as they are aplenty). The installation still croaks unfortunately, but this time with a new error value:
[10/12/05,10:08:49] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CreateProcess launched with cmd linew:\vs\setup\..\wcu\sse\SQLEXPR32.EXE "w:\vs\setup\..\wcu\sse\SQLEXPR32.EXE" -q /norebootchk /qn reboot=ReallySuppress addlocal=all instancename=SQLEXPRESS SCCCHECKLEVEL=IncompatibleComponents:1 SQLAUTOSTART=1 ERRORREPORTING=2 /watsongenman=SQL???.mft
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: w:\vs\setup\..\wcu\sse\SQLEXPR32.EXE exited with return value 17058
[10/12/05,10:14:10] InstallReturnValue: GFN_MID SSE x86, 0x42a2
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Setup.exe: AddGlobalCustomProperty
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: ***ERRORLOG EVENT*** : Component Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86 returned an unexpected value.
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({BBE1827C-F2FD-4FDA-A6D6-C83B62FFFDCA})
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CGenericComponent::LaunchWatson() - Obtained CSetupWatson instance
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({B8A13F14-4BDE-4EC4-A53C-8E51FBB8261F})
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: ISetupManager::GetGlobalCustomProperty() failed to find global prop in CGenericComponent::GetGlobalCustomProperty()
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({4F8791EE-486F-44B5-952B-F28F9FD58BD0})
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: ISetupManager::GetGlobalCustomProperty() failed to find global prop in CGenericComponent::GetGlobalCustomProperty()
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CGenericComponent::LaunchWatson() - Using manifest: C:\DOCUME~1\AARON~1.SEE\LOCALS~1\Temp\SQL5DC.mft
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({D530994B-CA3E-4CF3-AC2F-485962898182})
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: ISetupManager::GetGlobalCustomProperty() failed to find global prop in CGenericComponent::GetGlobalCustomProperty()
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CGenericComponent::LaunchWatson() - Setting the property CustomCoreProp_WatsonManifestReady to use the GenComp Manifest.
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Setup.exe: GetGlobalCustomProperty({D530994B-CA3E-4CF3-AC2F-485962898182})
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Setup.exe: AddGlobalCustomProperty
[10/12/05,10:14:10] Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition x86: CGenericComponent::LaunchWatson() - Completed
Again, no information I can easily dig out from the Internet at this point. What addition items need to be removed to get this installation to work? Appreciate some input.
UPDATE: Big success
I eradicated every single file in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server related to v9.0 (2005).
This time round, I meticulously removed every single entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components\ that was related to '983B05722D2A359499AC721C2F8A6EDF', maybe 50 to 60 odd. I was previously afraid to remove some of them that only had an odd single reference to that identifier and nothing else, unlike the rest that specifically revealed an explicit SQL component by filesystem or Registry path. But this time round, I swallowed hard and killed all I could find.
Of course, I had re-do all the steps listed upstairs as it appears the "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Tools Express Edition CTP" component is brought in directly by this installation of Visual Studio, rather than a straggling survivor of skirmishes with previous SQL Server versions.
Now comes the interesting part: even though the installation is successful and i can connect to the Express instance, the Add/Remove control panel shows nothing about the Express edition or the Tools.