sql server 2008 express setup problem

Question

I previously had sql server 2005 express and uninstalled it.. I also uninstalled any vs related programs and installed visual web developer 2008 express edition with SP1. now that I am trying to install sql server 2008, I am seing error messages like no other and leave that alone without any suggestions..

the latest one which I could not come to a proper solution on the internet is;

consistency validation for sql server registry keys error which suggests "The SQL Server registry keys from a prior installation cannot be modified. To continue, see SQL Server Setup documentation about how to fix registry keys.

as you might have guessed nothing so informative in the documentation... Also, when I try to delete any sql server related registry key, it does not let me. (yes I stopped all the related services..)

anybody here that can be of any assistance?

Answer 1

You can try with this procedure :

• Stop all SQL Server Services
• Remove all SQL Server Services with sc delete servicename
• Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs - Select and Remove all Microsoft SQL Server programs
• Open regedit and remove all SQL Server folders in this registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/ SOFTWARE/MICROSOFT
• Remove SQL Server folders from Program Files directory
• Reboot

This procedure should resolve the issue, i've resolved with this procedure ...

Answer 2

i found this to happen if you had an add-in for SSMS installed which hasn't been uninstalled before ssms was uninstalled.

Answer 3

You may need to change the permissions on the relevant registry keys using regedt32 first so that you can then delete the keys via normal regedit

Answer 4

Well actually, I believe, one should not go through such mess in order to accomplish a simple task like this. In the end, I ended up formatting my PC and re-installing SQL Server.

Answer 5

I know this is an old question and you already said in comments that you reformatted the machine. However, I just ran into this exact message and wanted to share my solution because it was so easy, but the error message didn't help at all!

I was using the wrong installation package. I had a 64-bit Intel Windows 7 computer and I was trying to use the x86 version of SQL Server 2008. Once I found the correct version (x64) I did not get this error and the install proceeded normally.

Answer 6

I had a similar problem because I still had some remnants of SQL Server 2005 left - not the services, it was some parts of the IDE. Anyway, to resolve it I used the option to upgrade (sorry, I can't remember the exact option just now). After running the upgrade portion, which took a few minutes, I could then run the full install with no problems.