Object reference not set to an instance of an object. Unable to finish the SQL 2012 installation on a VM Machine

Question

Hi, My name is Leonard and I am studying SQL. I have downloaded the newest MS SQL 2012 and also MS 2012 Hyper-V. I have set a MS 2012 Hyper-V on a laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 and 3G of RAM (Planing to add more to max at 8G).

Following the instructions in the free online Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases” Training Kit, I have set 6 virtual machines as instructed in the Training Kit. While the installation of the MS Server Core 2008 R2 SP1 completed with no problem, the same cannot be said for the SQL Server 2012 installation. I have encountered an error that I have not seen anyone address in any of the SQL web forums.

After running the unattended setup instruction (Setup.exe /qs /ACTION=Install /FEATURES=SQLEngine /INSTANCENAME=MSSQLSERVER /SQLSVCACCOUNT="Njowa\Pa$$worD>" /SQLSVCPASSWORD=" Pa$$worD” /SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS="Njowa\lenny#4!@" /AGTSVCACCOUNT="NT AUTHORITY\Network Service"  /IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS) this is what I get after a series SQL setup  initiation windows popups then disappears.

The following error occurred:

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Error result: -2147467261

Result facility Code: 0

Result error Code: 16387

Please review the summary.txt log for further details

My question is: What instance of an object is not properly initialize in the Setup instructions

Answer 1

Hello,

Please note that SQL Server requires at least 1 GB of RAM. The operating system (Windows Server) requires 2 GB of RAM (recommended) or 512 MB (minimum). This means any virtual machine that will receive the installation of a SQL Server instance requires 1.5 or 2 GB at least.

The behavior of SQL Server setup tells me that the virtual machine does not have enough memory assigned or .NET Framework 3.5 was not enable on Control Panel->Program and Features before trying to install SQL Server.

The following thread is about another possible cause of this error:

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/mr-IN/sqlsetupandupgrade/thread/575d3025-69f5-4152-a473-44496b008811

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Alberto Morillo
SQLCoffee.com

Answer 2

Hi Leonard,

"While the installation of the MS Server Core 2008 R2 SP1 completed with no problem, the same cannot be said for the SQL Server 2012 installation"

you mean MS Server Core 2012 core installation. Are you maintaining snapshots ! easy to go the old state if things go wrong. Try to do a attended installation if it work then you can try with command prompt or scheduled etc..

Alberto was rite. Make sure you run one or two servers at a time not 6 at onec your system may stop responding.

I have four virtual windows 2012 servers installed and run all at once on a 4GB RAM with windows 7 base operating system. Very slow. It was ok with three servers as one domain controller and two nodes...

good luck

If you need any assistance any time happy to help you...

kumar

Answer 3

FIX: Error message when you install SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1

Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. when installing sqlserver 2008 along side of Sqlserver 2005

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Answer 4

Would you please share/upload SQL Server setup log files.

See below "FAQ" about how to locate/upload SQL Server logs.

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FAQ
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Regards,
Ahmed Ibrahim
SQL Server Setup Team
My Blog
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" and "Vote as Helpful" on posts that help you.
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Answer 5

I'm working through the training key, too, and this issue vexed me for several days.  Finally, I came across a forum post that suggested checking the permissions on registry key HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall .  I ran regedit.exe and found that the key did *not* exist.  I created the key; then, I reran setup.exe and it worked!

Answer 6

Had exactly the same problem - SQL Server 2012 on Windows Server Core 2008 R2

The answer in my case was to run the .NET4 installer that comes with the SQL Server disk:

d:\redist\DotNETFrameworks\dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64_SC.exe

restarted the server and the install ran OK

CMR

Answer 7

Thank you, Chris, this is what worked for me.