Troubleshooting SQL Server 2014 installation
If you have problems with SQL Server 2014 installation, review this troubleshooting
checklist to find potential solutions.
1. Check the hardware requirements.
To install SQL Server 2014, you should have the following hardware:
– Intel or compatible platform with processor speed:
1.0 GHz minimum for a 32-bit x86 implementation and a 1.4 GHz minimum for a 64-bit x64
2.0 GHz or faster recommended
– Memory (RAM): 512 Mb minimum for SQL Server 2014 Express Edition,
1 GB minimum for other SQL Server 2014 Editions,
4 GB or more recommended.
– Hard disk space: a minimum of 6 GB of available hard-disk space.
– Display at least 800×600 pixel resolutions.
– A Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device.
2. Check the operating system requirements.
To install SQL Server 2014, you must have one of the following operating systems:
– Windows 7 editions.
– Windows 8 editions.
– Windows 8.1 editions.
– Windows 10 editions.
– Windows Server 2008 SP2 editions.
– Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 editions.
– Windows Server 2012 editions.
– Windows Server 2012 R2 editions.
3. Check the software requirements.
SQL Server 2014 requires Internet Explorer 7 or later version, Windows PowerShell 2.0
and .NET Framework 4.0.
4. Ensure that you have administrative rights on the computer.
SQL Server needs these permissions to create registry entries, create services and so on.
5. Ensure that TCP/IP was enabled before you install SQL Server 2014.
A default instance of SQL Server 2014 is configured for TCP/IP port 1433, and named
pipe \.pipesqlquery.
6. Use the LocalSystem account for SQL Server service.
You can change it later to an appropriate domain account, once you have successfully
installed SQL Server 2014. Using the LocalSystem account helps to reduce potential
SQL Server installation problems.
7. Ensure that you install SQL Server 2014 on computer with the NTFS file format.
Microsoft recommends that you run SQL Server 2014 on computers with the NTFS file
format because the NTFS file system more protected than FAT32 file system and provides
best performance.
8. Check that the drive you install SQL Server 2014 is not read-only or compressed.
You cannot install SQL Server 2014 on read-only or compressed drives because the
SQL Server Setup will block the installation process.
9. Stop some services, which can cause installation failure.
Because some services may cause installation failure of SQL Server 2014 due to a
Windows logon failure or time out, you should stop these services before
installing SQL Server 2014, and then restart them once SQL Server has been
successfully installed. Stop the following services:
– IIS (Internet Information Server)
– Exchange Server
– SNA (Systems Network Architecture) Server
– SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) Service
– Disk Keeper
– Anti-virus software (such as McAfee)
– Backup products (such as ARC Server)
10. Close all extraneous programs running.
Because extraneous programs use some system resources, it is a good idea to close all
extraneous programs before install SQL Server 2014. Be sure that there are no any
programs on the taskbar except as the Setup application.
11. Image completion setup fails when you use SysPrep to install localized version
of SQL Server 2014.
This problem occurs when you have prepared an image of stand-alone instance of SQL Server
together with features of “SQL Server Data Tools” and “Management Tools.” This bug was
first fixed in Cumulative Update package 3 for SQL Server 2014. You can download the
Cumulative Update package 3 for SQL Server 2014 at here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2984923
12. The error occurs when you install SQL Server 2014 on a local drive that is ReFS
formatted.
This is the error message text: “Requested value ReFS was not found”. ReFS is a new
file system format that is introduced in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. This bug
was first fixed in Cumulative Update package 5 for SQL Server 2014. You can download
the Cumulative Update package 5 for SQL Server 2014 at here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3011055
13. Error occurs when you connect to the database engine after you install Cumulative
Update package 4 for SQL Server 2014.
This problem occurs when you use SQL Server Management Studio to connect to the database
engine. This bug was first fixed in Cumulative Update package 6 for SQL Server 2014.
You can download the Cumulative Update package 6 for SQL Server 2014 at here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3031047
14. When you try to install SQL Server 2014 by using InstallShield or a bootstrapping
application, the installation process freezes.
This problem occurs because InstallShield or the bootstrapping application keeps open
some Windows Installer handlers when you run the SQL Server setup. Therefore, the
installation process freezes. To work around this problem, you can run the SQL Server
setup program directly from the SQL Server installation media without wrapping the Setup
program inside InstallShiled or a bootstrapping application.
15. To locate any problems during setup, check the Summary.txt file in the
“Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server120Setup BootstrapLOG” directory
(the default path).
The Summary.txt file contains the general information about components installation
(successful or failed) and contains the links to the log files with detailed description
of the installation process. See also errorlog files located in the Log directory of
the target installation directory. These files contain full description of each
SQL Server component.