Troubleshooting an Installation of the SQL Server Database Engine

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The following are some common problems associated with installing the Database Engine and suggested resolution information.

Problem: Applications fail to enlist SQL Server 2005 resources in a distributed transaction

Issue: Because the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) is not completely configured in Microsoft Windows, applications may fail to enlist SQL Server 2005 resources in a distributed transaction. This problem can affect linked servers, distributed queries, and remote stored procedures that use distributed transactions.

Resolution: To prevent such problems, you must fully enable MS DTC services on the server where SQL Server 2005 is installed.

To fully enable MS DTC, use the following steps:

  1. In Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, and then open Computer Management.
  2. In the left pane of Computer Management, expand Services and Applications, and then click Services.
  3. In the right pane of Computer Management, right-click Distributed Transaction Coordinator, and select Properties.
  4. In the Distributed Transaction Coordinator window, click the General tab, and then click Stop to stop the service.
  5. In the Distributed Transaction Coordinator window, click the Logon tab, and set the logon account to NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService.
  6. Click Apply and OK to close the Distributed Transaction Coordinator window. Close Computer Management. Close Administrative Tools.

Note

For installations of SQL Server 2005 on computers participating in a failover cluster, MS DTC must be fully enabled and clustered before you run Setup. If MS DTC is not clustered, Setup will fail. Before running Setup, use the Microsoft Cluster Administrator to ensure that MS DTC has been clustered.

Problem: Upgrade to SQL Server 2005 fails with "SQL Server Setup could not connect to the database service for server configuration." error message.

Issue: If port 1433 is not available during upgrade to SQL Server 2005, SQL Server Setup may return the following error:

SQL Server Setup could not connect to the database service for server configuration.

Resolution: To proceed, terminate the process using port 1433 and continue with SQL Server 2005 Setup:

  1. Run netstat -o from the command prompt.
  2. Identify the application or process using port 1433.
  3. Use Task Manager to close the application or terminate the process to free port 1433.
  4. Resume SQL Server 2005 Setup.

If you are unable to free port 1433 using the steps above, use the following additional steps:

  1. Open Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel.
  2. Select Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and then click Change.
  3. On the Component Selection page, click the radio button for the SQL Server instance to upgrade, and then click Next.
  4. On the Feature Maintenance page, click Database Engine, and then click Next.
  5. Click Resume to resume the upgrade operation to SQL Server 2005.

Problem: Upgrade may fail if local applications are connected to the instance being upgraded.

Issue: SQL Server Setup requires single user mode to complete an upgrade to SQL Server 2005. If there are local applications connected to a SQL Server instance during the upgrade operation, Setup will fail with the following error:

SQL Server Setup could not connect to the database service for server configuration. The error was: [Microsoft][SQL Native Client][SQL Server] Login failed for user <DomainName\AdminAccount>. Reason: Server is in single user mode. Only one administrator can connect at this time. Refer to server error logs for more information. For details on how to view Setup logs, see How to: View Setup Log Files" in SQL Server Books Online.

Resolution: This failure is commonly caused when Reporting Services is running during SQL Server upgrade. To work around this issue, stop all applications that connect to the SQL Server instance, then select "Retry" on the Setup error message to allow upgrade to continue.

Issue: SQL Server 2005 Setup fails due to configuration of existing SQL Server components.

Problem: This issue may be caused if an existing SQL Server client installation is configured with the "force encryption" option enabled. The error message for this condition is:

SQL Server Setup could not connect to the database service for server configuration. The error was: [Microsoft]<component name> SSL Provider: The certificate's CN name does not match the passed value. Refer to server error logs and Setup logs for more information. For details on how to view Setup logs, see "How to View Setup Log Files" in SQL Server Books Online.

Resolution: Disable the "force encryption" option on pre-existing SQL Server clients using the SQL Server 2000 client network utility (for MDAC clients in SQL Server 2000) or SQL Configuration Manager (for SQL Native Client clients in SQL Server 2005), and then re-run SQL Server 2005 Setup again.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Verify a Successful Installation of SQL Server 2005 Services
How to: Read a SQL Server 2005 Setup Log File

Concepts

Failover Cluster Troubleshooting
How to: View SQL Server 2005 Setup Log Files
How to: Rebuild the Registry for SQL Server 2005
How to: Rebuild the Master Database for SQL Server 2005

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance