SQL Server 2008 Slipstream Setup on Windows Cluster May Fail With “The system cannot find the path specified”
Recently I encountered an issue where the in-place upgrade of the SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008 on the Windows Server 2003 cluster failed with following error:
TITLE: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Setup
------------------------------
The following error has occurred:
The system cannot find the path specified
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OK
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We were using Slipstream installation using Service Pack 1 and Cumulative Update 4. After clicking OK, the database services\full-text and replication components failed. The client tools and other components were applied successfully. I then checked the Summary_[nodename]_[datetime].txt in the recently created setup logs folder:
Summary.TXT
Overall summary:
Final result: SQL Server upgrade failed. To continue, investigate the reason for the failure, correct the problem, uninstall SQL Server using the following command line, and then rerun SQL Server Setup. Uninstall command line: setup /q /action=uninstall /instanceid=MSSQLSERVER /features=SQLEngine,Replication,FullText
Exit code (Decimal): -2068643839
Exit facility code: 1203
Exit error code: 1
Exit message: SQL Server upgrade failed. To continue, investigate the reason for the failure, correct the problem, uninstall SQL Server using the following command line, and then rerun
SQL Server Setup. Uninstall command line: setup /q /action=uninstall /instanceid=MSSQLSERVER /features=SQLEngine,Replication,FullText
Start time: 2010-03-19 02:58:28
End time: 2010-03-19 03:10:17
Requested action: Upgrade
Log with failure: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20100319_025713\Detail.txt
Detailed results:
Feature: Database Engine Services
Status: Failed: see logs for details
MSI status: Passed
Configuration status: Failed: see details below
Configuration error code: 0xDC80C325
Configuration error description:The system cannot find the path specified
Configuration log: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20100319_025713\Detail.txt
Feature: SQL Server Replication
Status: Failed: see logs for details
MSI status: Passed
Configuration status: Failed: see details below
Configuration error code: 0xDC80C325
Configuration error description:The system cannot find the path specified
Configuration log: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20100319_025713\Detail.txt
Feature: Full-Text Search
Status: Failed: see logs for details
MSI status: Passed
Configuration status: Failed: see details below
Configuration error code: 0xDC80C325
Configuration error description:The system cannot find the path specified
Configuration log: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20100319_025713\Detail.txt
Using the above information you could not find any pointers as to what path the setup is referring to. For this, you need to go to the Detail.Txt and get the details from there. Search for the "The system cannot find the path specified":
Detail.TXT
2010-03-19 03:07:29 SQLEngine: --RsFxConfiguration: InfFilePath is C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Shared\RsFxInstall\RsFx0103.inf
2010-03-19 03:07:29 SQLEngine: --RsFxConfiguration: ExecuteInfSection RetVal = 3
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: Configuration action failed for feature SQL_Engine_Core_Inst during timing ConfigNonRC and scenario ConfigNonRC.
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: The system cannot find the path specified
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: Configuration action failed for feature SQL_Engine_Core_Inst during timing ConfigNonRC and scenario ConfigNonRC.
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: The system cannot find the path specified
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlEngine.RsFxConfiguration.Install()
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlEngine.FilestreamConfiguration.Upgrade_ConfigNonRC(EffectiveProperties previousInstanceProperties)
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlEngine.SqlEngineSetupPrivate.UpgradeFilestream_NonRC(EffectiveProperties properties, EffectiveProperties previousInstanceProperties)
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlEngine.SqlEngineSetupPrivate.Upgrade_ConfigNonRC(EffectiveProperties properties, EffectiveProperties previousInstanceProperties)
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlEngine.SqlEngineSetupPrivate.Upgrade(ConfigActionTiming timing, Dictionary`2 actionData, PublicConfigurationBase spcbCurrent, Version fromVersion)
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlConfigBase.SqlFeatureConfigBase.Execute(ConfigActionScenario scenario, ConfigActionTiming timing, Dictionary`2 actionData, PublicConfigurationBase spcbCurrent)
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlConfigBase.SlpConfigAction.ExecuteAction(String actionId)
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlConfigBase.SlpConfigAction.Execute(String actionId, TextWriter errorStream)
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: Exception: System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception.
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: Source: Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlServer_ConfigExtension.
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: Message: The system cannot find the path specified.
2010-03-19 03:07:29 Slp: Watson Bucket 1
Original Parameter Values
The above snippet refers to the error message that we encountered in the Summary.txt. If you verify InfFilePath, the setup is trying to access "100\Shared\RsFxInstall\RsFx0103.inf" but it is unable to find this path. Hence, manually verify the mentioned path on the node. If you don't find the path, please follow the below method:
ü Clean SQL 2008 components using the command line given at the top of the Summary.txt file:
o setup /q /action=uninstall /instanceid=MSSQLSERVER /features=SQLEngine,Replication,FullText
OR
o Use Add\Remove Programs to clean the installed components.
ü Do not remove 100 folder inside C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\..
ü Now, run rsfx.msi file from ..\Installation folder\[x86] or [x64] or [ia64]\Setup folder. This will create the RsFxInstall folder and .ini files inside ..\100\Shared.
ü Then start the slipstream setup again.
This time the setup will succeed, if you don't encounter any other error J
Sumit Sarabhai
SE, Microsoft SQL Server
Reviewed by
Mukesh Nanda
TL, Microsoft SQL Server
Comments
Anonymous
January 29, 2013
Thank you very much, You're post helped me during a failed SQL Server 2008 installation.Anonymous
August 31, 2016
Having this problem with SQL Server 2016, this instruction helped somewhat (although didn't completely solve the problem). I managed to eventually install sql server 2016 after doing this and reinstalling, repairing, uninstalling, restarting, reinstalling again under different instance name (not using the default 'MSSQLSERVER' instance name).