Attention To Detail: Problems Installing SQL Server 2008 on Windows 7

I tried installing SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition on a Windows 7 machine yesterday and ran into some issues that I thought I’d note here. I also re-learned a lesson about carefully reading error messages. The solution was simple, but I made it more difficult than it should have been. Hopefully this will help you when you decide to install SQL Server 2008 on a Win7 machine and also serve as a reminder that slow down and pay attention.

Windows 7 Known Compatibility Issues
When I first ran the SQL Server 2008 install, Windows 7 displayed a message box alerting me that there are known compatibility issues for SQL Server 2008 on Windows 7.  You will want to remember to install SQL Server 2008 SP1 after successfully installing SQL Server 2008. For now, you can ignore this warning and continue with the install.

Rule Check – Previous releases of Visual Studio 2008
After choosing my install options and setting up configurations, the install failed with the Rule Check Result: “Previous releases of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008”. If you click the Failed link you will see instruction that Visual Studio 2008 SP1.

Installing VS2008 SP1 and re-starting the install corrected my problem.

The Lesson
For me the issue was mental sleight of hand. Since installing software is a no-brainer task, I was doing other things while the install ran. When the install first started, I made the mental note that I needed to install SQL Server 2008 SP1. Near the end of the install when the rule check failed for previous versions of Visual Studio 2008, I literally thought that it said SQL Server 2008.

I was pretty sure that I hadn’t installed SQL Server 2008 yet, but thought that maybe I had put an Express edition on there or something. I searched my installed programs and services, but didn’t find anything. I even tried installing SQL Server 2008 SP1. Only after reading through some blog posts about SQL Server 2008 compatibility issues on Windows 7 did I realize that I had misread the error message.

When reading error messages and stack traces from my own applications, I’m diligent about reading them closely, but I simply underestimated the level of attention that this install required. Whoops!