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Install SQL Server 2012 Using SysPrep

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SQL Server SysPrep related setup actions can be accessed through the Installation Center. The Advanced Page of the Installation Center has two options - Image preparation of a stand-alone instance of SQL Server and Image completion of a prepared stand-alone instance of SQL Server. The Prepare and Complete sections describe the installation process in detail. For more information, see Considerations for Installing SQL Server Using SysPrep.

You can also prepare and complete an instance of SQL Server using the command prompt or a configuration file. For more information, see:

Prerequisites

Before you install SQL Server, review the topics in Planning a SQL Server Installation.

For more information about SQL Server editions and the hardware and software requirements, see Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server 2012.

Important

The following is not supported by SQL Server SysPrep:

WOW 64 installations: a feature of 64-bit edition of Windows that enables 32-bit applications to run natively in 32-bit mode.

This section includes the following procedures:

  • Prepare a stand-alone instance of SQL Server

  • Complete a prepared instance of SQL Server

  • Add features to a prepared instance of SQL Server

  • Remove features from a prepared instance of SQL Server

  • Uninstalling a Prepared Instance

  • Modifying or Uninstalling a Completed Instance of SQL Server.

Prepare Image

Prepare a stand-alone instance of SQL Server.

  1. Insert the SQL Server installation media. From the root folder, double-click Setup.exe. To install from a network share, locate the root folder on the share, and then double-click Setup.exe.

  2. The Installation Wizard runs the SQL Server Installation Center. To prepare an instance of SQL Server, click Image preparation of a stand-alone instance of SQL Server on the Advanced page.

  3. The System Configuration Checker runs a discovery operation on your computer. To continue, click OK. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  4. On the Product Updates page, the latest available SQL Server product updates are displayed. If you don't want to include the updates, clear the Include SQL Server product updates check box. If no product updates are discovered, SQL Server Setup does not display this page and auto advances to the Install Setup Files page. For more information on Product Updates, see Product Updates in SQL Server 2012 Installation

  5. On the Install Setup files page, Setup provides the progress of downloading, extracting, and installing the Setup files. If an update for SQL Server Setup is found, and is specified to be included, that update will also be installed.

  6. The System Configuration Checker verifies the system state of your computer before Setup continues. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  7. On the Prepare Image Type page, select Prepare a new instance of SQL Server.

    The Prepare Image Type page is displayed only when you have an existing un-configured prepared instance of SQL Server on the machine. You can choose to prepare a new instance of SQL Server or add sys prep supported features to an existing prepared instance of SQL Server on the machine. For more information on how to add features to a prepared instance of SQL Server see Add Features to a prepared instance.

  8. On the License Terms page, read the license agreement, and then select the check box to accept the license terms and conditions. To help improve SQL Server, you can also enable the feature usage option and send reports to Microsoft.

  9. On the Feature Selection page, select the components for your installation:

    SQL Server 2012 SysPrep

    • Database Engine

    • SQL Server Replication

    • Full-Text Features

    • Reporting Services in Native mode

    • Redistributable Features

    SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1 Cumulative Update 2 (January 2013) SysPrep

    • Database Engine

    • SQL Server Replication

    • Full-Text Features

    • Data Quality Services

    • Reporting Services in Native mode

    • Analysis Services

    • Redistributable Features

    • Shared Features

    A description for each component group appears in the right pane when you highlight the feature name. You can select any combination of check boxes. For more information, see Editions and Components of SQL Server 2012 and Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2012.

    The prerequisites for the selected features are displayed on the right-hand pane. SQL Server Setup will install the prerequisite that are not already installed during the installation step described later in this procedure.

  10. On the Prepare Image Rules page, the System Configuration Checker verifies the system state of your computer before Setup continues. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  11. On the Instance Configuration page, specify the Instance ID for the Instance. Click Next to continue.

    Instance ID — The Instance ID is used to identify installation directories and registry keys for your instance of SQL Server. This is the case for default instances and named instances. If the prepared instance is completed as a default Instance during the Complete step, the instance name is overwritten as MSSQLSERVER. The Instance ID remains the same as specified.

    Instance root directory — By default, the instance root directory is C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\. To specify a non-default root directory, use the field provided, or click Browse to locate an installation folder. The directory specified in the prepare step will be used during configuration in the Complete step.

    All SQL Server service packs and upgrades will apply to every component of an instance of SQL Server.

    Installed Instances — The grid shows instances of SQL Server that are on the computer where Setup is running.

  12. The Disk Space Requirements page calculates the required disk space for the features that you specify. Then it compares the required space to the available disk space. For more information, see Disk Space Requirements.

  13. The System Configuration Checker will run prepare image rules to validate your computer configuration with the SQL Server features that you have specified. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  14. The Ready to Prepare Image page shows a tree view of installation options that were specified during Setup. On this page, Setup indicates whether the Product Update feature is enabled or disabled and the final update version. To continue, click Prepare. SQL Server Setup will first install the required prerequisites for the selected features followed by the feature installation.

  15. During installation, the Prepare Image Progress page provides status so that you can monitor installation progress as Setup continues.

  16. After installation, the Complete page provides a link to the summary log file for the installation and other important notes. To complete the SQL Server installation process, click Close.

  17. If you are instructed to restart the computer, do so now. It is important to read the message from the Installation Wizard when you have finished with Setup. For more information, see View and Read SQL Server Setup Log Files.

  18. This completes the prepare step. You may complete the image or deploy the prepared image as described in Considerations for Installing SQL Server Using SysPrep.

Complete Image

Complete a Prepared Instance of SQL Server

  1. If you have a prepared instance of SQL Server included in the image of you machine, you will see a shortcut in the Start Menu. You can also launch the Installation Center and click Image completion of a prepared stand-alone instance on the Advanced page.

  2. The System Configuration Checker runs a discovery operation on your computer. To continue, click OK. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  3. On the Setup Support Files page, click Install to install the Setup support files.

  4. The System Configuration Checker verifies the system state of your computer before Setup continues. After the check is complete, click Next to continue. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  5. On the Product Key page, select an option button to indicate whether you are installing a free edition of SQL Server, or a production version of the product that has a PID key. For more information, see Editions and Components of SQL Server 2012. If you are installing Evaluation edition the 180-day trial period starts when you complete this step.

  6. On the License Terms page, read the license agreement, and then select the check box to accept the license terms and conditions. To help improve SQL Server, you can also enable the feature usage option and send reports to Microsoft.

  7. On the Select a Prepared Instance page select the prepared instance you want to complete from the drop down box. Select the Un-configured instance from the Instance ID list.

    Installed instances: This grid displays all the instances including any prepared instance on this machine.

  8. On the Feature Review page, you will see the selected features and components included in the install during the prepare step. If you wish to add more features to your SQL Server Instance not included in the prepared instance, you must first complete this step to complete the SQL Server Instance, then add the features from the Add Features on the Installation Center.

    Note

    You can add features that are available for the product version that you are installing. For more information, see Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2012

  9. On the Instance Configuration page, specify the Instance name for the prepared Instance. This is the name of the instance once you have completed the configuration of SQL Server. Click Next to continue.

    Instance ID — The Instance ID is used to identify installation directories and registry keys for your instance of SQL Server. This is the case for default instances and named instances. If the prepared instance is completed as a default Instance during the Complete step, the instance name is overwritten as MSSQLSERVER. The Instance ID remains the same as specified during the Prepare step.

    Instance root directory —The directory specified in the prepare step will be used and cannot be modified in this step.

    All SQL Server service packs and upgrades will apply to every component of an instance of SQL Server.

    Installed instances — The grid shows instances of SQL Server that are on the computer where Setup is running.

  10. Work flow for the rest of this topic depends on the features that were selected during the prepare step. You might not see all the pages, depending on the selections.

  11. On the Server Configuration — Service Accounts page, specify login accounts for SQL Server services. The actual services that are configured on this page depend on the features that you selected to install.

    You can assign the same login account to all SQL Server services, or you can configure each service account individually. You can also specify whether services start automatically, are started manually, or are disabled. Microsoft recommends that you configure service accounts individually to provide least privileges for each service, where SQL Server services are granted the minimum permissions they have to have to complete their tasks. For more information, see Server Configuration - Service Accounts and Configure Windows Service Accounts and Permissions.

    To specify the same logon account for all service accounts in this instance of SQL Server, provide credentials in the fields at the bottom of the page.

    Security Note   Do not use a blank password. Use a strong password.

    When you are finished specifying login information for SQL Server services, click Next.

  12. Use the Server Configuration — Collation tab to specify non-default collations for the Database Engine and Analysis Services. For more information, see Server Configuration - Collation.

  13. Use the Database Engine Configuration - Account Provisioning page to specify the following:

    • Security Mode — Select Windows Authentication or Mixed Mode Authentication for your instance of SQL Server. If you select Mixed Mode Authentication, you must provide a strong password for the built-in SQL Server system administrator account.

      After a device establishes a successful connection to SQL Server, the security mechanism is the same for both Windows Authentication and Mixed Mode. For more information, see Database Engine Configuration - Account Provisioning.

    • SQL Server Administrators — You must specify at least one system administrator for the instance of SQL Server. To add the account under which SQL Server Setup is running, click Add Current User. To add or remove accounts from the list of system administrators, click Add or Remove, and then edit the list of users, groups, or computers that will have administrator privileges for the instance of SQL Server. For more information, see Database Engine Configuration - Account Provisioning.

    When you are finished editing the list, click OK. Verify the list of administrators in the configuration dialog box. When the list is complete, click Next.

  14. Use the Database Engine Configuration - Data Directories page to specify nondefault installation directories. To install to default directories, click Next.

    Important

    If you specify non-default installation directories, ensure that the installation folders are unique to this instance of SQL Server. None of the directories in this dialog box should be shared with directories from other instances of SQL Server.

    For more information, see Database Engine Configuration - Data Directories.

  15. Use the Database Engine Configuration - FILESTREAM page to enable FILESTREAM for your instance of SQL Server. For more information, see Database Engine Configuration - Filestream.

  16. Use the Reporting Services Configuration page to specify the kind of Reporting Services installation to create. For more information about Reporting Services configuration modes, see Reporting Services Configuration Options (SSRS).

  17. On the Error Reporting page, specify the information that you want to send to Microsoft that will help improve SQL Server. By default, options for error reporting is enabled. For more information, see Error Reporting.

  18. On the Complete Image Rules page, the System Configuration Checker will run the complete image rules to validate your computer configuration with the SQL Server configurations that you have specified. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  19. The Ready to Complete Image page shows a tree view of installation options that were specified during Setup. To continue, click Install.

  20. During installation, the Complete Image Progress page provides status so that you can monitor installation progress as Setup continues.

  21. After installation, the Complete page provides a link to the summary log file for the installation and other important notes. To complete the SQL Server installation process, click Close.

  22. If you are instructed to restart the computer, do so now. It is important to read the message from the Installation Wizard when you have finished with Setup. For more information, see View and Read SQL Server Setup Log Files.

  23. This step completes the configuration of the prepared instance of SQL Server and you have completed the installation of SQL Server.

Add Features to a Prepared Instance

Add Features to a Prepared Instance of SQL Server

  1. Insert the SQL Server installation media. From the root folder, double-click Setup.exe. To install from a network share, locate the root folder on the share, and then double-click Setup.exe.

  2. The Installation Wizard runs the SQL Server Installation Center. To add features to a prepared instance of SQL Server, click Image preparation of a stand-alone instance of SQL Server on the Advanced page.

  3. The System Configuration Checker runs a discovery operation on your computer. To continue, click OK. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  4. On the Setup Support Files page, click Install to install the Setup support files.

  5. On the Prepare Image Type page, select Add features to an existing prepared instance of SQL Server option. Select the specific prepared instance you want to add features to from the drop down list of available prepared instances.

  6. On the Feature Selection page, specify the features you want to add to the specified prepared instance.

    The prerequisites for the selected features are displayed on the right-hand pane. SQL Server Setup will install the prerequisite that are not already installed during the installation step described later in this procedure.

  7. On the Prepare Image Rules page, the System Configuration Checker verifies the system state of your computer before Setup continues. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  8. The Disk Space Requirements page calculates the required disk space for the features that you specify. Then it compares the required space to the available disk space. For more information, see Disk Space Requirements.

  9. On the Prepare Image Rules page, the System Configuration Checker will run prepare image rules to validate your computer configuration with the SQL Server features that you have specified. You can view the details on the screen by clicking Show Details, or as an HTML report by clicking View detailed report.

  10. The Ready to Prepare Image page shows a tree view of installation options that were specified during Setup. To continue, click Install. SQL Server Setup will first install the required prerequisites for the selected features followed by the feature installation.

  11. During installation, the Prepare Image Progress page provides status so that you can monitor installation progress as Setup continues.

  12. After installation, the Complete page provides a link to the summary log file for the installation and other important notes. To complete the SQL Server installation process, click Close.

  13. If you are instructed to restart the computer, do so now. It is important to read the message from the Installation Wizard when you have finished with Setup. For more information, see View and Read SQL Server Setup Log Files.

Remove Features from a Prepare Instance

Removing features from a prepared instance of SQL Server

  1. To begin the uninstall process, from the Start menu click Control Panel and double click Program and Features.

  2. Double click the SQL Server component to uninstall and click Remove.

  3. Setup support rules will run to verify your computer configuration. Click OK to continue.

  4. On the Select Instance page, select the prepared instance you want to modify. The name of the prepared instance will be displayed as "Unconfigured PreparedInstanceID" where PreparedInstanceID is the instance you select.

  5. On the Select Features page, specify the features to remove from the SQL Server instance you specified. Click Next to continue.

  6. Removal rules will run to verify that the operation can complete successfully.

  7. On the Ready to Remove page, review the list of components and features that will be uninstalled.

  8. The Remove Progress page will display the status of the operation.

  9. On the Complete page you can review the completion status of the operation. Click close to exit the installation wizard.

Uninstalling a Prepared Instance

Uninstall a prepared instance of SQL Server

  1. To begin the uninstall process, from the Start menu click Control Panel and double click Program and Features.

  2. Double click the SQL Server component to uninstall and click Remove.

  3. Setup support rules will run to verify your computer configuration. Click OK to continue.

  4. On the Select Instance page, select the prepared instance you want to modify. The name of the prepared instance will be displayed as "Unconfigured PreparedInstanceID" where PreparedInstanceID is the instance you select.

  5. On the Select Features page, specify the features to remove from the SQL Server instance you specified. Click Next to continue.

  6. On the Removal Rules page, Setup will run rules to verify that the operation can complete successfully.

  7. On the Ready to Remove page, review the list of components and features that will be uninstalled.

  8. The Remove Progress page will display the status of the operation.

  9. On the Complete page you can review the completion status of the operation. Click close to exit the installation wizard.

  10. Repeat steps 1 to 9 until all components of SQL Server 2012 have been removed.

Modifying or Uninstalling a Completed Instance of SQL Server.

The process to add or remove features or to uninstall a completed instance of SQL Server is similar to the process to an installed instance of SQL Server. For more information, see the following topics:

See Also

Other Resources

What is Windows SysPrep

How does Windows SysPrepWork