When you have more than 16 instances, the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (Windows) Setup program or the SQL Server Desktop Engine Setup program fails, and you receive a "This installation package could not be opened. ..." error message (823463)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (Windows)
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE)
Bug #: 469785 (SQL Server 8.0)

SQL Server 8.0:469785

SYMPTOMS

When you install Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (Windows) or Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (also known as MSDE 2000), the Setup program may not run successfully, and you may receive the following error message:

This installation package could not be opened. Verify that the package exists and that you can access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer package.

If verbose logging is enabled when you try to run the Setup program, error messages that are similar to the following are logged in the Setup log file:

Starting custom action PickInstanceComponentSet
Entering Function MyMsiEvaluateCondition
MsiEvaluateCondition for SQLMSDEInstalled returned FALSE
End Function MyMsiEvaluateCondition
Locating unused component set
Failed to find available component set
Action ended 13:12:07: PickInstanceComponentSet.2D02443E_7002_4C0B_ABC9_EAB2C064397B.
Return value 3.
Action ended 13:12:07: INSTALL. Return value 3.


Note You can enable verbose logging to collect information when you run the Setup program. To do so, use the /L*v switch, as in the following command-line statement:
setup.exe /L*v <Setup Log File Path>

CAUSE

This problem occurs because 16 instances of SQL Server 2000 are already installed on the computer. A maximum of 16 instances of SQL Server 2000 are supported on a computer. This limit includes instances of SQL Server 2000, instances of SQL Server Desktop Engine (Windows), and instances of SQL Server Desktop Engine.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, remove one or more of the instances of SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server Desktop Engine, and then run the Setup again.

Note Remove the instances that you do not have to have.

You can also remove any Microsoft Windows Server 2003 component that is installed with SQL Server Desktop Engine (Windows). Additionally, you can remove any Independent software vendor (ISV) product that is installed by using merge modules on an instance of SQL Server Desktop Engine. Only remove the Windows Server 2003 component or the ISV product if you do not have to have it.

Note See the Windows Server 2003 component documentation or the ISV product documentation to determine the correct way to remove components of SQL Server Desktop Engine or SQL Server Desktop Engine (Windows). For more information about how to remove the ISV product, contact the ISV.

MORE INFORMATION

Each instance of SQL Server Desktop Engine (Windows) and SQL Server Desktop Engine uses a unique SqlrunXX.msi file. XX is a number from 01 to 16 for a total of 16 available package files. SQL Server Desktop Engine (Windows) and SQL Server Desktop Engine each have a different set of 16 product and package codes.

The SQL Server Desktop Engine (Windows) Setup and the SQL Server Desktop Engine Setup use the following types of installations to determine the total number of instances on the computer:
  • The product codes for SQL Server Desktop Engine (Windows).
  • The product codes for SQL Server Desktop Engine.
  • The custom product codes that are created by modifying the product code that is contained in a SqlrunXX.msi file in SQL Server Desktop Engine.
  • The product codes for the ISV program that are created by using merge modules.
  • The product codes for SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition, SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition, SQL Server 2000 Personal Edition, SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition, and SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Evaluation Edition.

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

324998 HOW TO: Obtain and install SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000)

317328 HOW TO: Troubleshoot a SQL Server Desktop Engine 2000 installation and upgrade

311762 INF: How to identify which MSI file was used for an existing MSDE installation

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:2/26/2004
Keywords:kbDatabase kbPackage kberrmsg kbSysAdmin kbprb KB823463 kbAudDeveloper
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