Unable to install SQL Server(setup.exe)

Question

I encountered this error during installation. I have tried several methods, including uninstalling SQL Server from 'Programs and Features' and deleting SQL Server entries in 'regedit', but I still face the same error when reinstalling.

The detail.txt file reports the following error:

Error result: -2068052377
Slp: Result facility code: 1212 
Slp: Result error code: 1639

And the Summary.txt file reports this:

Detailed results:
  Feature:                       Database Engine Services
  Status:                        Failed
  Reason for failure:            An error occurred during the setup process of the feature.
  Next Step:                     Use the following information to resolve the error, and then try the setup process again.
  Component name:                SQL Server Database Engine Services Instance Features
  Component error code:          1639
  Component log file:            C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\160\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20250306_124931\sql_engine_core_inst_Cpu64_1.log
  Error description:             Invalid command line argument. Consult the Windows Installer SDK for detailed command line help.
  Error help link:               https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkId=20476&ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&EvtSrc=setup.rll&EvtID=50000&ProdVer=16.0.1000.6&EvtType=sql_engine_core_inst.msi%400x162A16FE%400x1639

Could you please give me some advice on how to successfully install SQL Server? Thank you very much!

Answer 1

First things first: what hardware do you have? If you have an ARM processor, beware that SQL Server does not support ARM. The rest of the answer assumes that you have a regular x64 processor.

My belief is that this is an error that occurs mainly in the situation when a user tried to install SQL Server and it failed with some error. The user might have tried some random cleanup and made renewed attempts. Because the cleanup was incomplete, Setup now fails with another error than it did originally.

Could this apply to you? Or did this happen on the first attempt? (If it does apply to you, don't feel bad. I think it is quite a natural path to take.)

Here is a link to an article that can help you to clean up properly: https://www.sql-easy.com/learn/how-to-uninstall-sql-server/. I have not tried it myself, but I learnt about it from a user who was in a similar situation as yours, and who was able to install SQL Server successfully after following the article.

If you are on Windows 11, be sure to read the article Troubleshoot errors related to system disk sector size greater than 4 KB before you try again. It discusses a known issue where Windows 11 reports a disk-sector size that SQL Server chokes on. This could be the cause for your original failure. Check out this article, and if needed apply the workarounds it proposes.

If you make a new attempt after cleanup, and it still fails, you find log files in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\nnn\Setup Bootstrap\Log with one folder per attempt. (nnn is a three-digit number that depends on the version of SQL Server you are trying to install). The files of most interest are summary.txt, detail.txt and any file with ERRORLOG in the name. (The latter only appears if Setup came as far as trying to start SQL Server). Feel free to attach these to the thread here.