Troubleshooting PowerPivot/SharePoint Setup

Question

PowerPivot-Enabled SharePoint Installations

Customers have reported some installation issues when installing the SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP and SharePoint 2010 Beta in order to publish PowerPivot workbooks to a SharePoint site. The following information explains how you can troubleshoot and report issues that you find.

 

How to Report Install Issues

 

Whatever the failure, it is important to identify, work around (if possible), and fix your issue. You can best help us do that by creating a separate bug, and attaching a complete set of log files to it.

·         Create your own bug at the MSConnect site following the instructions provided here: http://connect.microsoft.com/sqlserver

·         Create a zip file with the contents of C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Log and attach it to the bug you created.

By creating your own issue, we can correspond individually with you. Also, different bugs may show the same symptoms, and we don’t want to miss any issues. Only when we get the information about your machine online can we be confident that we have identified the cause of your problem.

 

Using the Log Files to Investigate an Install Failure

 

In general, you can diagnose install failures by inspecting the log files created during setup.

 

The C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Log folder contains one folder for each setup session you have conducted. Their names The file names are timestamped, so they sort in order.

 

In the log folder, Summary.txt contains a summary of setup progress in your most recent setup session. After checking out Summary.txt, open the most recent timestamped folder for more information. PowerPivot setup information is found in Detail.txt. Search for “ASSPI_Install_ASSPIInstallStartupFinalize_Cpu64” to see log info generated during PowerPivot Server configuration. Errors will generally leave a record in this section of the log.

 

On occasion, inspection of the “ULS” logs, generated by SharePoint, yields more useful information. They can be found at: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\LOGS.

 

Complete New Farm Uninstall

 

Some setup failures are caused when configuration information remains on the machine after a previous install or uninstall. To completely uninstall a “New Farm” setup, do the following:

·         Uninstall SQL Server GEMINIBI instance. Select all features.

·         Run the SharePoint configuration wizard to disconnect from the server farm. You can access the wizard from the Start menu, under “Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products.”

·         Use the Windows server manager to remove the old “SharePoint Central Administration v4” site.

·         Delete C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.GEMINIBI\MSSQL\DATA\StateServiceDB*.*

·         Delete C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.GEMINIBI\MSSQL\DATA\Secure Store Service*.*

 

Install Failures

 

Install failures fall in a number of categories.

 

Standalone SharePoint

 

You are installing PowerPivot for SharePoint new farm on a standalone SharePoint server.

 

Symptom

 

Setup fails with:

 

                Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

 

Inspection of the logs reveals:

 

2009-11-10 08:38:01 AS: SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard version 14.0.4514.1009. Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 2010. All rights reserved.

2009-11-10 08:38:01 AS:

2009-11-10 08:38:01 AS: The user parameter specified with the configdb command is invalid.

2009-11-10 08:38:01 AS: When installed in standalone mode, you cannot specify a farm administrator user account or password.  The local account NetworkService becomes the farm administrator by default when installed in standalone mode.

 

Cause

 

374280 – PowerPivot for SharePoint is not supported on a standalone farm

 

Workaround

 

                        Complete the New Farm uninstall.

                        Uninstall SharePoint.

Reinstall SharePoint, selecting “Farm”, then “Complete.”
IMPORTANT: Do not run the config wizard when given the opportunity.

                        Rerun new farm setup.

 

Domain Controller

 

You are installing PowerPivot for SharePoint on a domain controller.

 

Symptom

 

Timeout has expired and the operation has not been completed.

 

        2009-11-21 20:51:34 AS: Exception!!:System.ServiceProcess.TimeoutException: Time out has expired and the operation has not been completed.

 

 

Cause

 

376688 - On domain controller, AS service account is switched to local service, causing downstream setup failure

 

Workaround

 

http://blogs.msdn.com/opal/archive/2009/11/16/installation-notice-for-sharepoint-2010-public-beta.aspx

 

Reinstall Issues

 

After a previous uninstall of AS SharePoint integration, you are running the new farm install again. Setup fails with one of the following messages:

 

Symptom

 

                Setup fails with the following error:

               

2009-11-25 09:23:26 Slp: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.AnalysisServices.SharePoint.Integration, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=89845dcd8080cc91' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

 

Further inspection of logs reveals:

 

2009-11-25 09:23:19 AS: Running ASSPI Repair action...

2009-11-25 09:23:19 Slp: Error: Action "Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.AnalysisServices.ASSPIRepairAction" threw an exception during execution.

2009-11-25 09:23:19 Slp: Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionExecutionException: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.AnalysisServices.SharePoint.Integration, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=89845dcd8080cc91' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

 

OR

 

ASSPI_Repair_ASSPIRepairStartupFinalize_Cpu64   

 

Cause

 

381156 – We are installing new farm after a failed uninstall. Setup erroneously attempts to repair, rather than reinstall, the AS SharePoint feature.

 

Workaround

 

After uninstalling SQL Server, run the SharePoint configuration wizard to disconnect from the server farm. You can access the wizard from the Start menu, under “Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products”

 

After addressing any other reinstall issues, run new farm setup again.

 

Symptom

 

                Setup fails with the following error:

               

2009-11-30 17:33:46 AS: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

 

Further inspection of logs reveals:

 

2009-11-30 17:33:41 AS: The configdb command is invalid or a failure has been encountered.
2009-11-30 17:33:41 AS: Failed to detect if this server is joined to a server farm.  Possible reasons for this failure could be that you no longer have the appropriate permissions to the server farm, the database server hosting the server farm is unresponsive, the configuration database is inaccessible or this server has been removed from the server farm.  To diagnose this problem further, review the extended error information located at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\LOGS\PSCDiagnostics_11_30_2009_17_33_23_16_669865114.log.  If this problem persists, run this wizard again to disconnect from the server farm.  After disconnecting, run the wizard again to create or connect to an existing server farm.

 

Cause

 

381156 – SharePoint’s back end database has been deleted, but SharePoint remains configured. Creation of the new SharePoint farm fails.

 

Workaround

 

After uninstalling SQL Server, run the SharePoint configuration wizard to disconnect from the server farm. Access the wizard from the Start menu, under “Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products.”

 

After addressing any other reinstall issues, run new farm setup again.

 

Symptom

 

                Setup fails with the following error:

               

2009-11-30 17:33:46 AS: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

 

Further inspection of logs reveals:

 

2009-12-01 14:52:38 AS: The adminvs command is invalid or a failure has been encountered.
2009-12-01 14:52:38 AS: An IIS web site by the name of SharePoint Central Administration v4 already exists on this server.  This name is reserved for the SharePoint Central Administration Web Application.  The web site must deleted or renamed before the SharePoint Central Administration Web Application can be created.

 

Cause

 

381247 – A previous SharePoint farm is unregistered, but the old admin web site remains, blocking the creation of a new farm.

 

Workaround

 

After uninstalling SQL Server, use the server manager to remove the old “SharePoint Central Administration v4” site.

 

After addressing any other reinstall issues, run new farm setup again.

 

 

Symptom

 

2009-12-01 17:50:03 AS: Cannot create file 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.GEMINIBI\MSSQL\DATA\StateServiceDB.mdf' because it already exists. Change the file path or the file name, and retry the operation.

CREATE DATABASE failed. Some file names listed could not be created. Check related errors.

 

                OR

 

            Inspection of ULS logs finds:

 

Unknown SQL Exception 5170 occurred. Additional error information from SQL Server is included below.  Cannot create file 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.GEMINIBI\MSSQL\DATA\Secure Store Service.mdf' because it already exists. Change the file path or the file name, and retry the operation

 

Cause

 

377801 – The database was created in the first install, and its presence blocks the follow on install.

                                381560 –

 

Workaround

 

Open a command prompt as administrator and then run:

 

del C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.GEMINIBI\MSSQL\DATA\StateServiceDB*.*

del “C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.GEMINIBI\MSSQL\DATA\Secure Store Service*.*”

 

After addressing any other reinstall issues, run new farm setup again.

Answer 1

Noting that on Sharepoint 2010 RTM (September CU), we're running into this error:

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.  

The full error log reads:

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.  
 at Microsoft.AnalysisServices.SharePoint.Integration.ASSPIConfigExtension.RevisionIndependentVersionCompare(Version v1, Version v2)  
 at Microsoft.AnalysisServices.SharePoint.Integration.ASSPIConfigExtension.IsEngineVersionUpToDate(Version& imbiVersion, Version& diskVersion)  
 at Microsoft.AnalysisServices.SharePoint.Integration.GeminiServiceApplication..cctor()

Any ideas about this one?

 

Answer 2

Hello Akiraplt,

 

Can you be more specific as of what you were trying to do when the error happened (along with the environment information of your system)?

 

Thanks,

Mariano

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Mariano Teixeira Neto Analysis Services SQL Server BI Microsoft Corp.

Answer 3

Mariano, 

 

We're getting this error when trying to add a SQL Service PowerPivot Application in Service Application in Central Admin. Is this where we should be adding the Service App, or is there preconfig that we should be doing first? 

Thanks! 

--Dave

Answer 4

 

Hi Dave,

 

Do you already have a PowerPivot Application in the SharePoint farm and you are trying to add a second one? Or this is the first one? Can you tell me the steps you've taken to deploy your SharPoint farm? Is this a single-machine farm or a multi-machine one? Did you install PowerPivot using the New Farm or Existing Farm option during the setup?

 

Thanks,

Mariano

---

Mariano Teixeira Neto Analysis Services SQL Server BI Microsoft Corp.

Answer 5

Hi Mariano, 

Thanks for writing back; I'll try to answer these questions as best as possible (the Farm was set up some time ago, and PowerPivot installed when the farm was originally built). 

We do not have an existing PowerPivot application; at this point, I've followed the directions here - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee210616.aspx - and have gotten to the part at which we have to create a new Service Application. This is where we're seeing the error. 

Our environment is single-farm, and I'm guessing the PP was installed on an Existing Farm, unless it was configured during install. 

Does this help? What other information could I pull to help clarify the situation?

--Dave

Answer 6

 

Just another quick question, Dave: Did the first version you had installed in this box was a CTP (beta) release, or is it the RTM (final) version?

 

Thanks,

Mariano

---

Mariano Teixeira Neto Analysis Services SQL Server BI Microsoft Corp.

Answer 7

Mariano, 

 

We're at full RTM, and CU'd up to September (but not with the latest October) release. 

 

--Dave

Answer 8

Hi Dave,

 

 

Could you open a new thread with your question (in this forum)? This way other users with the same issues you're having can find the answer to it (once we have it). :)

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Mariano Teixeira Neto Analysis Services SQL Server BI Microsoft Corp.

Answer 9

 

Hi Dave,

 

Could you also tell me if SQL Server installed to the default location or is it installed somewhere else? Or do you have multiple sql instances installed in different directories?

 

Thanks,

Mariano

---

Mariano Teixeira Neto Analysis Services SQL Server BI Microsoft Corp.

Answer 10

Hi All,

Existing Farm installation after step 21 Click Next and before step 22, Click Install in section Install SQL Server PowerPivot  from the following article http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee210616.aspx 

1.     Modify the ConfigurationFile.ini in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Log\<date-Time>
Note: you can copy the file locations from the last screen "Ready to Install" and paste the path into explorer, exit and save the change prior to starting the installation. Find and replace the FARMADMINPORT to the correct port# for your existing Central Administration WebApp. The SQL Installation creates a random port

2. Copy the Microsoft.AnalysisServices.SharePoint.Integration.dll to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\SQLServer2008R2\x64 or it Fails to Load and causes the installation to fail. The SQL Installation does not copy the assembly to the correct support loaction to be installed..

 

-Ivan     

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Ivan Sanders My LinkedIn Profile, My Blog, @iasanders.

Answer 11

Excellent

I needed both points to resolve my installation problem.

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Brian Searle