Cannot install SQL Server Express

My system had a beta version of Visual Studio 2005 Express on it which I uninstalled. Apparently not correctly, as I can not install SQL Server 2005 Express. I have tried to removal procedures which either give me an error message or I cannot find the items in the Add/Remove program list that are requested. That is, it looks like the system should accept SQL Server 2005 Express, but it does not.

I have successfully installed Visual C++ 2005 Express. I have no clue as to what to do next and there is no documentation on what to do. I have looked at the various postings here, tried several of them, to no avail.

When I search the registry there are some 70 entries that have the string “SQLEXPRESS” in the entry. I am unsure if these are related to my previous beta install or related to the system (a475c HP Pavilion) needs. I am reluctant to start removing those entries.

So now what do I do? Is this really that difficult? And what if I decided to buy Visual Studio 2006, whenever it may be introduced? Will I not be able to install it?

Here is the log file that was generated yesterday, my latest attempt.

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Microsoft SQL Server 2005 9.00.2047.00
==============================
OS Version : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
Time : Sun Nov 05 17:32:58 2006
HOME-HP-XP : SQL Server 2005 Setup has detected incompatible components from beta versions of Visual Studio, .NET Framework, or SQL Server 2005. Use Add or Remove Programs to remove these components, and then run SQL Server 2005 Setup again. For detailed instructions on uninstalling SQL Server 2005, see the SQL Server 2005 Readme.

SQL Server Setup failed. For more information, review the Setup log file in %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG\Summary.txt.

Time : Sun Nov 05 17:33:51 2006

List of log files:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG\Files\SQLSetup0002_HOME-HP-XP_Core.log
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG\Files\SQLSetup0002_HOME-HP-XP_Datastore.xml
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG\Summary.txt

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Thanks

Thomas

Examine the log at C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG\Files\SQLSetup0002_HOME-HP-XP_Core.log. This should give you the actual name of the incompatable components that are on your computer. You will need to remove those. If you can't find them in ARP you'll need to manually removing them using msiexec.exe /x <productID>. The product ID is in the log.

Mike

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Mike,

Thanks for the information.I am not there yet, but it looks like progress is being made!

I followed your instructions, looked in the file you mentioned and found a product ID and attempted to remove it by using

msiexec.exe /x <productID>

I got a dialog box error.It was entitled "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition CTP" with the following contents:

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The setup has encountered an unexpected error in the datastore.The action is RestoreSetupParams.The error is :Failed to read property "Installlds" {"MachineConfiguration", "", "HOME-HP-XP"} from cache

Unable to write property into cache: IsClustered

Unable to write property into cache: "IsClustered"

XmIRW Error: Failure Loading xmlrw.dll

CheckAllProcedures() returned: 2

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What next?

Thanks.

Thomas

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The problems I was having have been expertly and enjoyably addressed by two posts on Aaron Stebner's WebLog at

http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/07/01/434814.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/12/08/501885.aspx

I found these to be absolutely first rate explanations and the installation of SQL Express went through without problems after following these clear instructions.

Since I have been trying to solve this problem on and off for 6 months I have to wonder why this information is not posted on the Visual Studio 2005 Express Support page at

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/support/uninstall/

When those instructions failed there is no clue as to what to do next.

Thomas