SharePoint \ SQL Server: Error installing SQL Server 2012, or Error installing SQL Server 2014?

If you try doing the out of the box install for SQL Express 2014, SQL Express 2012 (or for that matter SQL Server 2012 or SQL Server 2014) and just want to set up a simple development PC then you will probably get the same error I did:

… “Wait on the Database Engine recovery handle failed. Check the SQL Server error log for potential causes.”

(for the impatient, skip down a page or two for the fix)

SQL Express 2012, SQL Express 2012 SP1, SQL Enterprise 2012, SQL Express 2014 or SQL Enterprise 2014 will all generate this same message:

Once you click OK, installation proceeds to the end and shows (in my case) what actually did not install correctly, along with links to the error log:

the error logs aren’t a lot of help, typically you get something like this:

Configuration file:            C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20140402_153752\ConfigurationFile.ini

Detailed results:
  Feature:                       Database Engine Services
  Status:                        Failed: see logs for details
  Reason for failure:            An error occurred during the setup process of the feature.
  Next Step:                     Use the following information to resolve the error, uninstall this feature, and then run the setup process again.
  Component name:                SQL Server Database Engine Services Instance Features
  Component error code:          0x851A0019
  Error description:             Wait on the Database Engine recovery handle failed. Check the SQL Server error log for potential causes.
  Error help link:               http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkId=20476&ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&EvtSrc=setup.rll&EvtID=50000&ProdVer=11.0.2100.60&EvtType=0xD15B4EB2%400x4BDAF9BA%401306%4025&EvtType=0xD15B4EB2%400x4BDAF9BA%401306%4025

  Feature:                       SQL Server Replication
  Status:                        Failed: see logs for details
  Reason for failure:            An error occurred for a dependency of the feature causing the setup process for the feature to fail.
  Next Step:                     Use the following information to resolve the error, uninstall this feature, and then run the setup process again.
  Component name:                SQL Server Database Engine Services Instance Features
  Component error code:          0x851A0019
  Error description:             Wait on the Database Engine recovery handle failed. Check the SQL Server error log for potential causes.
  Error help link:               http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkId=20476&ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&EvtSrc=setup.rll&EvtID=50000&ProdVer=11.0.2100.60&EvtType=0xD15B4EB2%400x4BDAF9BA%401306%4025&EvtType=0xD15B4EB2%400x4BDAF9BA%401306%4025

  Feature:                       SQL Client Connectivity
  Status:                        Passed

  Feature:                       SQL Client Connectivity SDK
  Status:                        Passed

Rules with failures:

attempt at repair didn’t entirely work, though at least a few more features appeared ok afterwards, seems the features that failed weren’t really installed to begin with.

  Configuration file:            C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20140402_164618\ConfigurationFile.ini

Detailed results:
  Feature:                       Database Engine Services
  Status:                        Failed: see logs for details
  Reason for failure:            An error occurred during the setup process of the feature.
  Next Step:                     Use the following information to resolve the error, and then try the setup process again.
  Component name:                SQL Server Database Engine Services Instance Features
  Component error code:          0x84B40002
  Error description:             The SQL Server feature 'SQL_Engine_Core_Inst' is not in a supported state for repair, as it was never successfully configured. Only features from successful installations can be repaired. To continue, remove the specified SQL Server feature.
  Error help link:               http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkId=20476&ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&EvtSrc=setup.rll&EvtID=50000&ProdVer=11.0.2100.60&EvtType=0x2841E06E%401204%402&EvtType=0x2841E06E%401204%402

  Feature:                       SQL Server Replication
  Status:                        Failed: see logs for details
  Reason for failure:            An error occurred for a dependency of the feature causing the setup process for the feature to fail.
  Next Step:                     Use the following information to resolve the error, and then try the setup process again.
  Component name:                SQL Server Database Engine Services Instance Features
  Component error code:          0x84B40002
  Error description:             The SQL Server feature 'SQL_Engine_Core_Inst' is not in a supported state for repair, as it was never successfully configured. Only features from successful installations can be repaired. To continue, remove the specified SQL Server feature.
  Error help link:               http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkId=20476&ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&EvtSrc=setup.rll&EvtID=50000&ProdVer=11.0.2100.60&EvtType=0x2841E06E%401204%402&EvtType=0x2841E06E%401204%402

  Feature:                       SQL Browser
  Status:                        Passed

  Feature:                       SQL Writer
  Status:                        Passed

  Feature:                       SQL Client Connectivity
  Status:                        Passed

  Feature:                       SQL Client Connectivity SDK
  Status:                        Passed

  Feature:                       Setup Support Files
  Status:                        Passed

Rules with failures:

Some people suggesting changing security on %userprofile%\AppData\Microsoft\Roaming\Microsoft\Protect\ folder, but the user accounts are generated during install, so the logical thing (well it worked for me) was to simply re-use LOCAL SERVICE and NETWORK SERVICE accounts instead.

Caveat: this is a development machine, not production, I’m a developer not a DBA – this is convenient and expedient for me.

THE FIX

Short version: the fix for SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installs is the same, just manually set the security for “SQL Server Agent” and “SQL Server Database Engine” to “NETWORK SERVICE”,
and for “SQL Server Analysis Services”, “SQL Server Reporting Services”, and if used for “SQL Server Distributed Replay Client” and “SQL Server Distributed Replay Controller” all to “LOCAL SERVICE”

Long version, below:

Here’s the complete install procedure end to end for the demo of SQL Server 2012 Enterprise, however the procedure is much the same for 2014 or SQL Express as well.

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 1

Launch the installation by running setup.exe, click on “Installation”

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 2

Once you click on Installation, click on “New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation”

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 3

After the checks are completed, click OK

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 4

choose your version, click Next

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 5

Click at least “I accept the license terms” (once you do), and optionally click “Send feature usage..” then click Next

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 6

Doesn’t hurt to leave the checkbox on, allow installer to add the updates now. BTW This will vary depending on your install of SQL 2012 or 2014. Click Next.

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 7

If all is well, you should see something similar to this. If there are issues, correct them, as advised, and come back here.

(For me Firewall was not a problem as this was a standalone dev. machine and not for other’s consumption.) Click Next

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 8

Leave the choice here on “SQL Server Feature Installation” to allow you to change the settings. Click Next

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 9.1

Choose your options. Note that you may see different features in SQL 2012 vs SQL 2014. Click Next when your options have been selected.

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 9.2

not too long to wait …

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 10

After further checks, click Next

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 11

Create a unique name. If you have just one SQL instance you could call it say SQLSERVER or SQLEXPRESS. IMO good to plan ahead, as you might find it useful to install a different version of SQL server to allow you to do development of server to server / ETL queries etc. Click NEXT when completed.

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 12

another intermediate check, this time for space, just click Next.

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 13.1

This is where you need to change from the default user accounts (most of which do not exist yet).

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 13.2

Choose one of the account names, scroll down and select “<<Browse…>>”

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 13.3

When you click browse, the account selection window pops up, click Advanced.

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 13.4

Click Find Now, then choose NETWORK SERVICE (or LOCAL SERVICE) depending on the service you are configuring. Click OK

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 13.5

You will be returned to the original popup, check the account selected, then click OK

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 13.6

Repeat until you change these accounts to either NETWORK SERVICE or LOCAL SERVICE, as shown, then click Next.

SQL 2012 or SQL 2014 installation step 14.1

I usually select Mixed Mode, as it (a) gives me a back door in case something goes wrong, and (b) to be able to develop apps using name/password as opposed to using window authentication.