Setup of SQL Server 2008: Restart required but I have restarted

Question

Hello,

I have tried to install SQL Server 2008. I cannot install, because I get the errormessage the prerequistite "Restart the computer is required".

But every time I restart my computer and try to execute the setup of SQL Server 2008, I get the same message, I have to restart the computer.

I cannot install the SQL Server 2008.

What can I do?

Thanks

Answer 1

Try the below

• Open Regedit
• Find the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager"
• Rename the "PendingFileRenameOperations" value to "PendingFileRenameOperations2"
• Restart your machine and then try again

On which OS & Which edition of SQL you are trying to install?

Answer 2

Hello,

 

thanks, your solution helps, but I have to start the setup immediately after changing the registry, because after a restart, the old value apears in the registry again.

 

I am working with Windows XP professional, i think the international english language version with german user interface.

 

The problem apears on my machine with the sql server enterprise vesion subscriber download

 

de_sql_server_2008_enterprise_x86_x64_ia64_dvd_x14-89215.iso / or

de_sql_server_2008_standard_x86_x64_dvd_x14-89163.iso.

 

Mayby the deamon tools had a bad influence, which i have had installed to access the iso files. Mayby the disabled system recovery on the drives have had also a bad influence.

Now i have removed daemon tools, but the problem still remaining.

 

But after changing the registry I am able to install.

 

Thanks,

Harald

 

 

 

 

Answer 3

This almost worked for me (using Vista) but everytime I rebooted some temporary files kept showing up in my "PendingFileRenameOperations". What did work for me though was

running Regedit, finding the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager" then deleting the value of "PendingFileRenameOperations".

I then exited regedit, ran my sql server 2k8 express edition setup (without rebooting) and it installed without an issue.

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

I have the exact same problem. I have tried all your suggestions above, to no avail. I also tried rolling back my system (using System Restore) and redo the required pre-installations (.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and Windows installer) all over again. I have no other lingering pending installations and other software can be installed and uninstalled (using msiexec) without any problems.

I'm using Win XP SP2 and have tried both the full SQL Server 2008 and the Express Edition. Same error.

Regards

Magnus Markling

Sigma Solutions

Answer 5

Magnus,

 

Check the below registry keys for any values for reboot.

 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

 

You can't install Enterprise edition  in Windows XP, you can able to install Enterprise Evaluation edition only.

Answer 6

Thank you for your reply.

I have checked those registry locations. They are all empty.

I'm actually only planning to install the client tools, but we have the Enterprise Edt DVD, so I tried using that one, as well as the downloadable versions of Express.

Regards

Magnus

Answer 7

This solution worked for me without restarting the computer.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Answer 8

Peter_H wrote:

This almost worked for me (using Vista) but everytime I rebooted some temporary files kept showing up in my "PendingFileRenameOperations". What did work for me though was running Regedit, finding the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager" then deleting the value of "PendingFileRenameOperations".

Thanks, however I don't even have any of those registery keys.  The paths are the same, but instead of 'PendingFileRenameOperations', all I have are 'FileRenameOperations'.  Same with all other reg paths listed in this thread that lead to 'PendingFileRenameOperations', they're all 'FileRenameOperations'.  Anyone know how to get get around this?

Answer 9

 

Answer 10

Mr Vidhya Sagar, how do we proceed from here? This is a major problem. Since SSMS 2005 can't be used to connect to SQL Server 2008, this problem effectively delays the deployment of SQL Server 2008 in my company.

I notice the thread is marked as "Answered". That's not really true, as some of us still have the exact same problem.

Answer 11

I did the renaming of the registry keys fix.  Everytime I rebooted they were back.  The solution I found was to rename the keys but dont reboot.  Just rerun the Sql setup and it will pass that point. 

 

I hope this helps you.

 

MagnusMarkling wrote:

Mr Vidhya Sagar, how do we proceed from here? This is a major problem. Since SSMS 2005 can't be used to connect to SQL Server 2008, this problem effectively delays the deployment of SQL Server 2008 in my company. I notice the thread is marked as "Answered". That's not really true, as some of us still have the exact same problem.

Answer 12

I'm not sure I want to know how you figured this out but it worked for me. None of the other registry settings were a factor but this "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager" then deleting the value of "PendingFileRenameOperations" seems to have done the trick for me.

 

Also: make sure you have SQL Server 2008 CU1 installed.

 

Thanks.

 

Answer 13

Im on vista 64 with setup stuck at failed to restart computer using the sql server 2008 developer edition iso. My registry has no pendingfilerename key only filerename and the values are cleared. Installing from the commandline generated a log error with action=install workflow invalid parameter. How do I use run rules to install without the reboot required rule check. VS 2008 SP1 professional is installed as well as VS 2005 professional and windows powershell, installer 4.5, .net 3.5. SQL was not installed with either version of VS, only compact edition which was uninstalled from add remove programs. VS 2008 express editions are installed for C#, VB, C++ (2008) and C# 2005. Also the latest setup hotfix did not fix the restart required rule. Is there some way to fix the source rather than ignore the symptom?, otherwise the installer must be checking some registry value, just not that one as far as I can see.

Answer 14

I had the same problem, no registry keys with that name - running Windows Server 2008 64 bit.  So here's what I did that worked:  Searched out using the find function in RegEdit the same name: PendingFileRenameOperations.  It found several instances, and not knowing which to change I changed them all.  Again you have to install Server 2008 without rebooting after making these changes.   Best of luck to you!

Answer 15

 

Magnus

Rename or delete the key as mentioned above but do not reboot.  That worked for me on a Windows 2008 server. 

Answer 16

 

In my case, I needed to rename the following key:

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet001\Control\Session Manager\PendingFileRenameOperations"

 

Regards,

Maras

Answer 17

I am running Vista SP1 with Visual Studio 2008 SP1, and .NET 3.5 SP1 having the same problem many have had. I like many others do not have a KEY registry entry for:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\PendingFileRenameOperations

What many seem to think (as I did) that there is a KEY value of PendingFileRenameOperations.  There is no KEY by that name.  There is however a Value Pair named "PendingFileRenameOperations" under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager

Navigate to the above registry location and then look in the right side pane for the value pair.  Rename it or delete the value found there.

In my case I have a Logitech CAM device that incorrectly completes its install without deleting the value pair.

After correcting the registry my install completed as expected.

Larry Aultman

Answer 18

Byron Gibson said:

Peter_H wrote:

This almost worked for me (using Vista) but everytime I rebooted some temporary files kept showing up in my "PendingFileRenameOperations". What did work for me though was running Regedit, finding the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager" then deleting the value of "PendingFileRenameOperations".

Thanks, however I don't even have any of those registery keys.  The paths are the same, but instead of 'PendingFileRenameOperations', all I have are 'FileRenameOperations'.  Same with all other reg paths listed in this thread that lead to 'PendingFileRenameOperations', they're all 'FileRenameOperations'.  Anyone know how to get get around this?

I have the same problem I don't have a 'PendingFileRenameOperations' instead I have the 'FileRenameOperations', which I've tried to rename and that didn't help.  I've tried all the other solutions listed here but to no avail.  Any help would be much appreciated.

Answer 19

Do an Edit>Find for the PendingFileRenameOperations in the Registry--it shows up in a couple of places....Rename it in each place and the proceed from there....I had to change the name in two places to get it to work.

Answer 20

One cause of this is the Logitech webcam installer

A string value named 'PendingFileRenameOperations' will be left in both

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\Session Manager

delete both and re-run the installer.

Developers, please fix this. It cost me 6 hours.

Answer 21

One cause of this is the Logitech webcam installer

A string value named 'PendingFileRenameOperations' will be left in both

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\Session Manager

delete both and re-run the installer.

Developers, please fix this. It cost me 6 hours.

Answer 22

I am having the same problem installing SQL Server 2008 on XP SP3 box. I have rebooted several times and I get the same error message when I try installing.

I have also researched my registry and I do not find the keys several of you have suggested that we edit. What do I do now? I need to install this system for my work.

Is there help out there? I have no funds to buy MS Support program.

Answer 23

Hi

Yes, this helped me :-)
After renaming PendingFileRenameOperations, without rebooting, I could run the setup (of client functionality only) and it seem to work.
And yes, I also have a Logitech WebCam, mentioned somewhere below: maybe it causes problems.

Thanks,
Carl

Answer 24

I also have the restart failed problem.

I have to say that my experience with trying to update my computer (Vista Ultimate x32) from SQL Express 2005 to SQL Express 2008 is one of the worse update experiences I've ever had and all could have been prevented.

1. The update requires Windows Installer 4.5.  Users are taken to a redistribution page rather than the normal installation/download page you are used to.

2. Windows Installer 4.5 is a Windows Update.  Why isn't it in the regular updates?

3. Power Shell 1.0 is required.  It's a Windows update, so why isn't it in the automatic update.

4. On running the Actual SQL Express 2008 Advanced Installation, the Install Upgrade Advisor is dimmed out.  Don't you just love dimmed out stuff.  No clue why it is unavailable.  It's a Geek thing.

Our firm will have about 2,000 installations to upgrade over the next 6 months.  If we have these kinds of problems, we will have to rethink the whole SQL 2008 idea and stay with SQL 2005.

Microsoft, you need to change this.  You CAN include Windows Installer 4.5 as a pre-requisite in your MSI and have it bundled with the MSI.  You CAN include Power Shell 1.0 as a pre-requisite in your MSI and bundle it in the MSI.  You CAN make sure the reboot doesn't leave the registry key set wrong or look at a different registry key OR let the user decide to continue.

-Pat-

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PatD

Answer 25

Carl,

I also had to do the complete search of the registry.  Also just happen to have a Logtech WebCam.  I found several PendingFileRenameOperations and deleted the values of all of them.  Then reran the system configuration checker without rebooting.  It passed on all.

---

PatD

Answer 26

Oh my god thank you so very much for your answer because like eveyone else I was looking on the left panel for the  PendingFileRenameOperations and it obviously wasn't there.  However when I actually clicked on the session manager there it was in the window to the right and it was the exact same thing you had with a couple of Logitec entries that were hanging.  I deleted the entries and it worked like a cahrm.  I have been obsessing over this for hours tring to figure this out so again thank you for explaining it a little clearer.

Brian Blackburn

Answer 27

VidhyaSagar,

This thread started a year ago and people are still having problems.  Is Microsoft going to come up with some kind of work around and let people indicate that they have rebooted and to continue with the install?

Not all SQL Express users will be able to hack the registry and it just causes HUGE expense for vendors providing installation support for their products.

-Pat-

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PatD

Answer 28

Yes Please..
We need someone from microsoft to put a solution for this problem.
I had this problem since 3 months ago. I did all what are explained, and the problem is still.

Thanks

Answer 29

I solved it.
look in the regedit for "PendingFileRenameOperations"
and I deleted its contents, without restart my machine, immeideatly re-run the installation. 

It is worked.
 

Answer 30

Pat,
SQL Server in any edition is not a trivial program.  It does require an installer upgrade which is easly obtained.  Why isn't it in the regular upgrade? My guess is a couple reasons: 1: Some older programs expect earlier installer versions (SQL Server has other requirements beyond the "normal" old system.)  So just to shove the installer down EVERYBODY's throat would cause a big stink.  2: Lot's of people especially developers turn OFF auto updates so that their test installations don't get modified.  That has a tendency to really screw up testing runs if the system is changing underneath you.  About Power Shell... see reason 2 above.

Finally if you are running SQL express on that many (2000) machines you should probably write your own system prep check.  I certainly would because SQL is not trivial it does touch a lot of areas.  I expect that you will find a bunch of other stuff on those 2000 boxes.

This problem would be greatly dimished if the ISV's and other developers would use a little common sense and do what their mother's taught them - "clean up after yourself."

If you make a registry entry that is GLOBALLY scoped such as this one that is causing this problem; then by all means you should be a good sport and clean up on your way out.  This particular registry entry is used by lots of install routines to make sure things get turned on and services start that affect stuff like virus scanners and very low-level system services (drivers for instance).  Later OS version systems like Vista and now Windows 7 are making these things less of an issue.  But as long as XP hangs around and developers continue to write sloppy code there isn't a lot that Microsoft can do.

When this happened to me and it was a respectable product like Logitech's that caused the problem, I sent them my issue.  You are absolutely right on one account Microsoft could take over control of your system... but then you would probably have a problem with that too.

Larry

Answer 31

Pat,
SQL Server in any edition is not a trivial program.  It does require an installer upgrade which is easly obtained.  Why isn't it in the regular upgrade? My guess is a couple reasons: 1: Some older programs expect earlier installer versions (SQL Server has other requirements beyond the "normal" old system.)  So just to shove the installer down EVERYBODY's throat would cause a big stink.  2: Lot's of people especially developers turn OFF auto updates so that their test installations don't get modified.  That has a tendency to really screw up testing runs if the system is changing underneath you.  About Power Shell... see reason 2 above.

Finally if you are running SQL express on that many (2000) machines you should probably write your own system prep check.  I certainly would because SQL is not trivial it does touch a lot of areas.  I expect that you will find a bunch of other stuff on those 2000 boxes.

This problem would be greatly dimished if the ISV's and other developers would use a little common sense and do what their mother's taught them - "clean up after yourself."

If you make a registry entry that is GLOBALLY scoped such as this one that is causing this problem; then by all means you should be a good sport and clean up on your way out.  This particular registry entry is used by lots of install routines to make sure things get turned on and services start that affect stuff like virus scanners and very low-level system services (drivers for instance).  Later OS version systems like Vista and now Windows 7 are making these things less of an issue.  But as long as XP hangs around and developers continue to write sloppy code there isn't a lot that Microsoft can do.

When this happened to me and it was a respectable product like Logitech's that caused the problem, I sent them my issue.  You are absolutely right on one account Microsoft could take over control of your system... but then you would probably have a problem with that too.

Larry

Larry, I've found that "consultants" turn off auto updates for our target market, businesses of 5 to 50 stations, because they want to keep control.  If a user's setup is not esoteric, then things go very well with Windows Update.

InstallShield can force a particular version of an installer, so that's not too big a deal.  However, 2000 support calls is a big deal.

Microsoft has been falling down on testing of installations.  SQL 2005, all editions, will not install over XP-SP3.  No wonder people don't want to run Windows Update.  There's a tech support call to uninstall MSXML6 and then reinstall it after installing SQL 2005.  This thread is about SQL 2008 install problems. 

I've spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on installing.  It's a constant fight keeping up with Microsoft's moving target inventory.  We don't need to have avoidable mistakes, like registry items needing hacking when Microsoft could have you reboot at the beginning of the install and then ignore the reboot flag.  The installer will reload the installation.

If Microsoft doesn't get the desktop systems settled down, they may lose that marketplace.

Regards,

---

PatD

Answer 32

WARNING

One cause of this is the Logitech webcam installer

A string value named 'PendingFileRenameOperations' will be left in both

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\Session Manager

delete both and re-run the installer.

Developers, please fix this. It cost me 6 hours.

I made the above changes on an XP machine and yes I was able to install SQL 2008 as soon as I deleted these keys but later when I rebooted I got a BSOD during boot. 

  SYSTEM_LICENSE_VIOLATION 0x0000009A

I couldn't boot into safe mode, or the last good configuration.  I had made a copy of the registry before making deleting the keys above and was able to get into the system using ERD and replace the registry and it still booted into a BSOD.

Now I am reinstalling the OS.  This fix cost me 12 hours!

Luckily my data is on a separate partition so hopefully I won't lose too much.

Answer 33

SkiGeek92,

We've seen the BSOD on XP when you try to install .net 3.5 without having the OS fairly current with Windows Updates.  Take an early XP SP2 and install .net 3.5 and you can often get a BSOD on reboot.  We've been able to consistantly reproduce this in our lab.  You'd think that MS would take care of it in their installer.

Updating to just before XP SP3 will not get the BSOD.  We've used to put in the .net framework (2.x) as a prerequisite to our system, but now that we are requiring .net 3.5, we just refuse to install on XP unless they have XP SP3.

Hope this sheds some light.

---

PatD

Answer 34

Peter_H,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Answer 35

...  We don't need to have avoidable mistakes, like registry items needing hacking when Microsoft could have you reboot at the beginning of the install and then ignore the reboot flag.  The installer will reload the installation.

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PatD

We DO need to avoid mistakes.  No amount of testing on Microsoft's part can fix bad practices on the part of delinquent developers.

I believe that updates are a fact of life.  I think that writing code and systems that follow the best practices industry guidelines should be a requirement.  Rebooting is not the answer and certainly ignoring a reboot flag is unacceptable.  Any developer that writes code that requires a reboot (drivers, system level services, etc.) should certainly clear those flags when the reboot is done.  In this case the reboot flag was set by Logitech (it has the name of their dll in the registry entry) and the Logitech service is started during the system boot. Clearly the Logitech developers should have had their code clear the flag per best practices guidelines.  This is not a Microsoft issue.  In this case if you booted a hundred times it still would not clear the offending registry entry.

Yes consultants and developers and many CIO's turn off auto-updates... Why? Shoddy programming mostly on the part of COTS (common off the shelf) software products.  Shoddy usually means low-budget rushed to market stuff.  A CIO of a company today has to do all the testing that should be done by the developer.  They (CIOs) then certainly DO want to CONTROL the environment for fear of breaking the install.  I am involved everyday with these very issues as you appear to be.  My experience is that Microsoft does a decent job, my experience also shows that COTS is much worse.

From reading your earlier posts, it seems that you have a sophisticated system requirement of SQL 200X on every desktop system install.  I think your aggravation with Microsoft on not including things in the installer that are necessary (the pre-requisites) is somewhat understandable.  However, I have scripted installs that start services and install missing pre-requisites.  Generally I accept the responsibility for making sure that our systems have the required configuration before I try to install packages.

I try to teach good practices and through planning to my clients so that we don't have these issues.  However I can't fix poor practices such as exhibited by Logitech in their Video Cam installer.

Larry

Answer 36

Just to let you know,

This also happens with Windows 7 and SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP.

After deleting the value from the registry key and pressing the re-run button all the checks passed and I was able to continue setup.

Thanks for the help.

Robin

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Robin Wilson

Answer 37

Hi Larry,

Yes, I have a Logitech Camera and when I had an HD failure and all my backups had backed up corrupted system files, I did not reinstall the Logitech drivers and just use the Windows camera driver, which works just fine.

SQL is not on each desktop, but .NET is on the Client.  SQL is either on some machine on the network, or it is hosted on the Internet.  We communicate with the server via standard SQL communications or web services when the database is hosted on the Internet.

My point is that once MSFT is made aware of the reboot problem, they should supply a botton that allows the user to continue if they have already rebooted.  It should not be necessary to hack the registry.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Regards,
Pat

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PatD

Answer 38

Pat,
You are right - hacking the registry is bad news... last resort.  I agree that MS could certainly give you the option to "go without reboot" similar to the way they handle the requirement for known issues with SQL2008 on Vista and Win 7 (not allowing SQL server to start until the service pack is installed.)

So yes I am in agreement on the hacking the registry.  And in the hands of compentent developers a bypass is a very good solution.  I am not sure it makes good sense from a business perspective for MS as it surely would have unintended consequences on the support side (not that hacking the registry doesn't lead to problems too.)  As a system architect and developer I always advocate the high-road in programming practices, ie workarounds are "generally" a bad idea because they are generally "one-off" instances.  In this case however it is an issue that could benefit from a workaround with plenty of "nag" screens to warn off the uninformed.

My point is that the problem lies outside Microsoft in the poor production controls, QA, and support that Logitech has rendered.

FYI, I just installed Windows 7, and got the brand new 64bit Logitech Cam drivers for a brand new HP.  The Logitech driver still leaves the trash in the registry - I checked to see.  This time however I waited until I had my new machine completely configured and working before installing the Logitech Cam.

Also note that when Logitech does an update they dump the trash back in the registry.  I sent them several notes (complaints, rants, nasty-grams, bad reviews...) didn't get any attention.  You might give it a try as well.

Larry

Answer 39

Try the below

• Open Regedit
• Find the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager"
• Rename the "PendingFileRenameOperations" value to "PendingFileRenameOperations2"
• Restart your machine and then try again

On which OS & Which edition of SQL you are trying to install?

this worked great, the only thing is when i rebooted it changed the name back to the old one, so i changed the name again and just did a rescan and it solved the problem without rebooting.