Troubleshooting SQL Server setup or upgrade problem (including service pack or hotfix installation)

Occasionally we may experience issues while installing/upgrading SQL Server and Setup may abort with out providing a detailed error message. In that case (if you are unsure about the root cause of failure and resolution steps you need to take), please refer to Setup Bootstrap log file for the detailed message and root cause of the failure.

Logs of setup bootstrap is found at [Root Drive]:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG\ and Summary.txt is the best place to start your investigation.

SQL Setup related files will be typically named as SQLSetup[Filenumber]_[Servername]_[Component Name] and will be available at [Root Drive]:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG\. File number will be incremented with next setup execution. However you should simply sort the files by the modified time and start reading from the latest file assuming you started troubleshooting immediately after the failure.

Hotfix related logs are stored in “Hotfix” folder ([Root Drive]:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG\Hotfix).

In case of cluster installation, please refer to setup bootstrap log of the specific node where the installation was active. However checking all nodes is a good idea to get a complete understanding of the installation progress.