Install of KB921896 fails with 0x643 and corrupts my SQL Server.

[Alyson]

Problem: Attempts to auto install KB921896 fail with error code 0x643. SQL
Server is now corrupted and won't start, complaining in a pop-up on machine
reboot that "Your SQL Server installation is either corrupt or has been
tampered with (Could not open SQLEVN70.RLL). Please uninstall then re-run
setup to correct this problem." My system is running Windows 2003 Server
Enterprise Edition SP 2.

Background: Last week, my Sharepoint (WSS 3.0) site stopped working because
it "couldn't connect to the configuration database". When I looked in the
Event Logs, I saw that SQL Server had been failing for a few minutes nearly
every day since Feb 16, 2008. On July 3, 2008 it failed again, twice this
time, and couldn't recover. Ever SQL Server failure in the log was preceded
by a run of MsiInstaller. Looking at my Windows Automatic Updates history, I
discovered that nearly every day since Feb 16, 2008, Windows Automatic
Updates had been unsuccessfully attempting to install KB921896 (SQL Server
2005 SP2). And on July 3, it tried twice. After that, my SQL Server
completely died.

Debugging: I downloaded the service pack to install it manually. I walked
through the wizard, and the install died midway, asking to send the following
log files to MS:
* C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup
Bootstrap\LOG\Hotfix\Redist9_Hotfix_KB921896_msxml6.msi.log
* C:\Windows\summary.txt
* C:\Windows\Hotfix\hotfix.log

Upon inspection of those files, I find that the first one does not exist. In
fact, there is no LOG subdirectory tree under C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\90\Setup Bootstrap.

Here are the highlights from the short summary.txt file:

**********************************************************************************
Prerequisites Check & Status
SQLSupport: Failed

....
Product Installation Status
Product : MSXML 6.0 Parser
Product Version (Previous): 1200
Product Version (Final) :
Status : Failure
Log File : C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup
Bootstrap\LOG\Hotfix\Redist9_Hotfix_KB921896_msxml6.msi.log
Error Number : 1622
Error Description : Unable to install Windows Installer MSI file
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
....
Summary
One or more products failed to install, see above for details
Exit Code Returned: 1622
************************************************************

Most interesting is the tail end of the hotfix.log:

************************************************************
07/11/2008 10:46:28.493 Installing file: msxml6.msi
07/11/2008 10:46:29.212 Copy Engine: Creating MSI install log file at:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup
Bootstrap\LOG\Hotfix\Redist9_Hotfix_KB921896_msxml6.msi.log
07/11/2008 10:46:29.337 Registry: Opened registry key
"Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer"
07/11/2008 10:46:29.384 Registry: Cannot read registry key value "Debug"
07/11/2008 10:46:29.431 Registry: Opened registry key
"Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer"
07/11/2008 10:46:29.446 Registry: Cannot read registry key value "Debug"
07/11/2008 10:46:29.524 Copy Engine: Error, unable to install MSI file:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\Cache\msxml6.msi
07/11/2008 10:46:29.587 The following exception occurred: Unable to install
Windows Installer MSI file Date: 07/11/2008 10:46:29.556 File:
\depot\sqlvault\stable\setupmainl1\setup\sqlse\sqlsedll\copyengine.cpp Line:
1378
07/11/2008 10:46:36.071 Watson: Param1 = Unknown
07/11/2008 10:46:36.212 Watson: Param2 = 0x656
07/11/2008 10:46:36.306 Watson: Param3 = Unknown
07/11/2008 10:46:36.431 Watson: Param4 = 0x656
07/11/2008 10:46:36.493 Watson: Param5 = copyengine.cpp@1378
07/11/2008 10:46:36.603 Watson: Param6 = Unknown
07/11/2008 10:46:36.759 Watson: Param7 = Redist9
07/11/2008 10:46:36.821 Watson: Param8 = @
07/11/2008 10:46:36.899 Watson: Param9 = x86
07/11/2008 10:46:37.009 Watson: Param10 = 6.10.1129.0
07/11/2008 10:46:37.118 Installed product: Redist9
07/11/2008 10:46:37.196 Hotfix package completed
07/11/2008 10:46:37.274 Attempting to continue the 32 bit ngen queue
************************************************************

If I read that correctly, it looks like there might be some registry
corruption. It also makes me nervous that when I now compare this SQL Server
installation to one working on another computer I see in the "C:\Program
Files\Microsoft SQL Server" directory only an "80" and "90" subdirectory and
no, say, "MSSQL.1", exists like in my other install. I'm hesitant to simply
re-install the product as recommended because that means reinstalling
SharePoint (since that's where my SQL Server install came from), and I don't
what other havoc that might wreak. Right now, I just need my website data
back.

Any suggestions you have are welcome. My apologies in advanced if this has
already been covered in another thread. I sampled the many entries regarding
this install in the discussion group but didn't see a solution for this. If
there is one, feel free to point me to the thread.

Thanks,
Alyson

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Start a free Windows Update support incident request:
https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=6527

Support for Windows Update:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/wusupport

For home users, no-charge support is available by calling 1-866-PCSAFETY in
the United States and in Canada or by contacting your local Microsoft
subsidiary. There is no-charge for support calls that are associated with
security updates.

For more information about how to contact your local Microsoft subsidiary
for security update support issues, visit the International Support Web
site: http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx

For enterprise customers, support for security updates is available through
your usual support contacts.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User)
AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.net

[Robert Aldwinckle]

"Alyson" <Aly...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B997D738-BEA1-45F5...@microsoft.com...

> Problem: Attempts to auto install KB921896 fail with error code 0x643.

0x643 = 1603 (decimal) is just a generic "it didn't work" code.
What else did you get?... ; )

Try searching for all the files that the update "touched."
E.g. search all your harddrives for files changed that day,
then sort by Date Modified; then scroll to the minutes that
the update was running. Besides the two that you have already
found perhaps there are others?

>
> Here are the highlights from the short summary.txt file:
>
> **********************************************************************************
> Prerequisites Check & Status
> SQLSupport: Failed
>
> ....
> Product Installation Status
> Product : MSXML 6.0 Parser
> Product Version (Previous): 1200
> Product Version (Final) :
> Status : Failure
> Log File : C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup
> Bootstrap\LOG\Hotfix\Redist9_Hotfix_KB921896_msxml6.msi.log
> Error Number : 1622
> Error Description : Unable to install Windows Installer MSI file
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ....
> Summary
> One or more products failed to install, see above for details
> Exit Code Returned: 1622
> ************************************************************

Aha. So that's probably the *significant* error code that the 0x643 hides

<cmd_output OS="XPsp2">
E:\>net helpmsg 1622

Error opening installation log file. Verify that the specified log file
location exists and that you can write to it.
</cmd_output>

In order to find out "which installation log file" this code is referring to
(if you don't find it in any other diagnostics) you may have to resort
to using ProcMon to trace another update attempt. Then you can
correlate the writes of these log messages by sequences of their lengths
and see whatever registry and file accesses were associated with each
to supplement the meaning of each.

Not necessarily. That could just be a diagnostic stub which you haven't
been asked to activate yet. ; ) I'd focus on the earlier error code.
Perhaps if you can find a way to resolve it you won't run into the second one
again? ; )

BTW notice that we have already seen 0x656 before in its other guise:

<cmd_output OS="XPsp2">
E:\>set /a 0x656
1622
</cmd_output>

<eg>

> It also makes me nervous that when I now compare this SQL Server
> installation to one working on another computer I see in the "C:\Program
> Files\Microsoft SQL Server" directory only an "80" and "90" subdirectory and
> no, say, "MSSQL.1", exists like in my other install. I'm hesitant to simply
> re-install the product as recommended because that means reinstalling
> SharePoint (since that's where my SQL Server install came from), and I don't
> what other havoc that might wreak. Right now, I just need my website data
> back.
>
> Any suggestions you have are welcome. My apologies in advanced if this has
> already been covered in another thread. I sampled the many entries regarding
> this install in the discussion group but didn't see a solution for this. If
> there is one, feel free to point me to the thread.
>
> Thanks,
> Alyson

WU is not the best newsgroup for diagnosing this.
Cross-posting to a SQL Server NG. Note that that newsgroup
is also hosted as a TechNet and MSDN forum.

http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=95&SiteID=17

HTH

Robert Aldwinckle
---