I have SQL 2005 installed and I installed SQL 2008 express a few months ago.
This week MS update told me I needed to patch SQL 2008 but the patch refused
to run because my computer fails the restart test. No matter how many times
I restart the computer the setup claims that my computer must be restarted
again. Next I tried to remove SQL 2008 express since I don't use it anyway
and I got the same problem.

where can I fix the restart flag that is triggering this problem.

Leon

I have the same problem. Just got a new "'twin turbo' dual quads" Dell T605
for the purpose of getting rid of my five "white boxes" accumulated over the
years. Server 2008 Enterprise is the base OS used strictly to host Hyper-V
instances of Server 2008 Standard application platforms. I'm stuck in the
same loop as Leon trying to install SQL 2008 on my "Personal" VM (which will
host all my personally used applications). Anybody out there from the SQL
2008 team who knows how to fix this? I'm dead in the water (right after
spending a small fortune).

Frank


"Leon McCalla" wrote:

Pending restart is an entry in the Windows registry.
Warning: If you are not familiar with the Windows registry, you may need
some help. If you mess up the registry you can have real problems.

Looking at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/832475/ I see:
a.. Flags set in the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Upda teExeVolatile to indicate
when a restart is required after installation or removal of a software
update such as a security update, critical update, or hotfix.

And also in that topic:
a.. Flags set in the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Upda teExeVolatile to indicate
when a restart is required after installation or removal of a software
update such as a security update, critical update, or hotfix.

Visual inspection of this registry key using the RegEdit tool will indicate
whether a restart is pending as the result of a software update installation
or removal. The following are the flag values within this key and their
meanings:
Collapse this tableExpand this table
Value in RegEdit Meaning
0x00000000 (0) No pending restart.
0x00000001 (1) A software update removal is pending a restart.
0x00000002 (2) A software update installation is pending a restart.
0x00000003 (3) Both an installation and a removal are pending a
restart.

If this key is missing completely, then there are no pending restarts. Note
that only updates built with version 6.1.22.0 or later versions will set
these flags. Therefore, this registry key may not always indicate whether a
restart is pending, as there are many software update packages built with
older versions of Update.exe.

Another registry key which can sometimes be used to determine whether a
restart is required is
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session
Manager\PendingFileRenameOperations. If this key exists and has files listed
within it, then a restart is pending. Note that even if this key is missing
or empty, there may still be a restart pending.

There may be more than one way to set this for Windows.

--
Rick Byham, MSFT
(Implies no warranty or rights)


"frankvfox" <frankvfox (AT) discussions (DOT) microsoft.com> wrote

Sorry to take so long to reply ... I've had a myriad of problems to fix.

I think this restart loop is a bug that needs to be fixed in the next
service pack. I've abandoned any further attempts to use SQL 2008. SQL 2005
will just have to do for the present.

I appreciate your help Rick. Thank you for the effort.

Frank


"Rick Byham, MSFT" wrote:

The "Another registry key ... " fixed this issue for me. Thank you sir.