Sql Server would be great if it would install
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I've been running Sql Server 2005, SP2. I foolishly decided I wanted to look at some of the demo DB stuff that is not part of the normal installation. So, I ran the install again just for the Demo DB stuff. But that wouldn't install because it said I already had a later version of Sql Server -- I assume SP2. So to compound my mistake, I decided to completely uninstall Sql Server and start over and this time install the entire thing. Please don't try this yourselves. First, it wouldn't completely uninstall. Services were left around, files left around, hundreds of registry entries. About all it would do is let me remove it from the installed programs list. Then I tried to reinstall. Well, of course, almost all of that failed because of all the crap still left on my machine. So I deleted all Sql Server app files by hand, rebooted a few times, ran 2 different registry cleaners, went through the registry by hand deleting anything with "sql server" that I could find. Still no luck. After 2 days of this crap, now about 3/4's of Sql Server will install. The rest fails with useless error messages (1603, etc.). So now I guess it is time to wipe my machine and reinstall Windows. Thanks alot MS. The greatest software company in the world -- if I could just get their stuff to install. :mad::mad::mad:
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I've been running Sql Server 2005, SP2. I foolishly decided I wanted to look at some of the demo DB stuff that is not part of the normal installation. So, I ran the install again just for the Demo DB stuff. But that wouldn't install because it said I already had a later version of Sql Server -- I assume SP2. So to compound my mistake, I decided to completely uninstall Sql Server and start over and this time install the entire thing. Please don't try this yourselves. First, it wouldn't completely uninstall. Services were left around, files left around, hundreds of registry entries. About all it would do is let me remove it from the installed programs list. Then I tried to reinstall. Well, of course, almost all of that failed because of all the crap still left on my machine. So I deleted all Sql Server app files by hand, rebooted a few times, ran 2 different registry cleaners, went through the registry by hand deleting anything with "sql server" that I could find. Still no luck. After 2 days of this crap, now about 3/4's of Sql Server will install. The rest fails with useless error messages (1603, etc.). So now I guess it is time to wipe my machine and reinstall Windows. Thanks alot MS. The greatest software company in the world -- if I could just get their stuff to install. :mad::mad::mad:
Wrong forum. However, you have learned a valuable lesson. If you ever intend to future uninstall MSSQL Server, then firstly read the manual, or at least the release documentation that came with it. To uninstall requires you do so in a particular manner, not just uninstalling or deleting files etc in a haphazard way. These, for instance, you should read ... How to uninstall an instance of SQL Server 2005 manually[^] How to: Uninstall an Existing Instance of SQL Server 2005 (Setup)[^] and plenty more direct from Microsoft.
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Wrong forum. However, you have learned a valuable lesson. If you ever intend to future uninstall MSSQL Server, then firstly read the manual, or at least the release documentation that came with it. To uninstall requires you do so in a particular manner, not just uninstalling or deleting files etc in a haphazard way. These, for instance, you should read ... How to uninstall an instance of SQL Server 2005 manually[^] How to: Uninstall an Existing Instance of SQL Server 2005 (Setup)[^] and plenty more direct from Microsoft.
Richard A. Abbott wrote:
Wrong forum.
:confused: You mean that he is not enough off-topic? Not ranting? ..and for that matter SQL Server IS difficult to uninstall many times. jhaga
Great books of the day: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1429203145/ref=nosim?tag=37bioinbooks-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380549 and http://www.amazon.com/dp/1429203145/ref=nosim?tag=37bioinbooks-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380549
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Richard A. Abbott wrote:
Wrong forum.
:confused: You mean that he is not enough off-topic? Not ranting? ..and for that matter SQL Server IS difficult to uninstall many times. jhaga
Great books of the day: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1429203145/ref=nosim?tag=37bioinbooks-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380549 and http://www.amazon.com/dp/1429203145/ref=nosim?tag=37bioinbooks-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380549
I have seen plenty worse rants about Microsoft stuff in the Lounge, and his language is "kid sister friendly", and would probably have got a better response there. However, regarding SQL Server, yes it can be awkward to uninstall, but the task is made very much easier if those Microsoft published guidelines are followed, which I am not convinced he did. :(
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Wrong forum. However, you have learned a valuable lesson. If you ever intend to future uninstall MSSQL Server, then firstly read the manual, or at least the release documentation that came with it. To uninstall requires you do so in a particular manner, not just uninstalling or deleting files etc in a haphazard way. These, for instance, you should read ... How to uninstall an instance of SQL Server 2005 manually[^] How to: Uninstall an Existing Instance of SQL Server 2005 (Setup)[^] and plenty more direct from Microsoft.
Richard A. Abbott wrote:
Wrong forum. However, you have learned a valuable lesson. If you ever intend to future uninstall MSSQL Server, then firstly read the manual, or at least the release documentation that came with it. To uninstall requires you do so in a particular manner, not just uninstalling or deleting files etc in a haphazard way. These, for instance, you should read ... How to uninstall an instance of SQL Server 2005 manually[^] How to: Uninstall an Existing Instance of SQL Server 2005 (Setup)[^] and plenty more direct from Microsoft.
This was more of a rant, since I was reasonably certain I was beyond help (which turned out to be the case). But, I appreciate your response. I did look at the link you provided to the rather lengthy article in MSDN. Alas, after a couple of hours, I got to the "If these steps did not uninstall all the components and all the files that are related to the instance of SQL Server 2005, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services." And I bet they will tell me to reinstall Windows. It must have taken a lot of work to make all of these separate applications so interdependent that they must be uninstalled in a particular order -- and they can't even tell you that during the uninstall. A nice, "We are going to trash your system beyond repair if you do this!" would have been nice. That "encapsulation" thing just never really caught on. And I guess the XCOPY installs that the .NET people have been dreaming about still aren't quite ready. Does anyone think there would be a market for an app that will completely get rid of Sql Server? Always looking for new opportunities. Thanks
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Richard A. Abbott wrote:
Wrong forum. However, you have learned a valuable lesson. If you ever intend to future uninstall MSSQL Server, then firstly read the manual, or at least the release documentation that came with it. To uninstall requires you do so in a particular manner, not just uninstalling or deleting files etc in a haphazard way. These, for instance, you should read ... How to uninstall an instance of SQL Server 2005 manually[^] How to: Uninstall an Existing Instance of SQL Server 2005 (Setup)[^] and plenty more direct from Microsoft.
This was more of a rant, since I was reasonably certain I was beyond help (which turned out to be the case). But, I appreciate your response. I did look at the link you provided to the rather lengthy article in MSDN. Alas, after a couple of hours, I got to the "If these steps did not uninstall all the components and all the files that are related to the instance of SQL Server 2005, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services." And I bet they will tell me to reinstall Windows. It must have taken a lot of work to make all of these separate applications so interdependent that they must be uninstalled in a particular order -- and they can't even tell you that during the uninstall. A nice, "We are going to trash your system beyond repair if you do this!" would have been nice. That "encapsulation" thing just never really caught on. And I guess the XCOPY installs that the .NET people have been dreaming about still aren't quite ready. Does anyone think there would be a market for an app that will completely get rid of Sql Server? Always looking for new opportunities. Thanks
There is always the chance that the Windows Installer Clean Up Utility "MSICUU2.EXE" may help, it is primarily for MS Office 2003 and earlier but I am told it also works for other MS applications, so it may work on MS SQL Server. Give it a try and let us know. You can get it via here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301[^]. Or possibly this http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa370523(VS.85).aspx[^]
Last modified: after originally posted --
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I have seen plenty worse rants about Microsoft stuff in the Lounge, and his language is "kid sister friendly", and would probably have got a better response there. However, regarding SQL Server, yes it can be awkward to uninstall, but the task is made very much easier if those Microsoft published guidelines are followed, which I am not convinced he did. :(
Richard A. Abbott wrote:
his language is "kid sister friendly"
Maybe he was hoping for Soapbox/kid-sister-unfriendly rants about SQL Server.
"I guess it's what separates the professionals from the drag and drop, girly wirly, namby pamby, wishy washy, can't code for crap types." - Pete O'Hanlon