Hi,
If you found this post useful and answer what you're looking for, please chime in.
Foreword
I was frustrated when I tried to install SQL Server Express 2005 64-bit on a new Win 10 tablet (Intel Cherrytrail) Home Edition 64-bit, wait, in case you're wondering why would I install an old SQL system on a brand new hardware and OS it's because our small company is still relying on that old SQL system, and we yet to find a software dev who can port all of our old SQL database to newer SQL Server. Not to mention Microsoft is adding backward compatibility limitations in every new SQL Server releases... The quickest and cheapest solution is to keep using the old SQL system on newer computers.
So, continuing on the issue, I kept receiving these errors during installation:
- An installation package for the product Microsoft SQL Server Native Client cannot be found. Try the installation again using a valid copy of the installation package 'sqlncli_x64.msi'
- The SQL Server service failed to start. For more information, see the SQL Server Books Online topics, "How to: View SQL Server 2005 Setup Log Files" and "Starting SQL Server Manually."
I've tried all of the workarounds found on various websites and forums to no avail, apparently the solution is a very easy one. If you're facing the same error messages, then read on, hopefully what works for me will work for you too.
The issues & the solution
The first issue (no. 1 up there) is caused by incompatibility of 32-bit software on 64-bit system, meaning I mistakenly launched the 32-bit version of SQL Server Express 2005 installer. At first I didn't realised it and tried the method that is said to successfully remedy the issue: by extracting the 'sqlncli_x64.msi' and move both the 'SQLSERVR.EXE' and 'SQLOS.DLL' files into the installation folder. After that didn't work for three times, I uninstalled the whole SQL Server related installations and tried one more time with the installation file which I downloaded from Microsoft's website. And it works, I passed the SQL Server Native Client process and continue to the SQL Server Database Services process, the last process.
That's when I encountered issue no. 2; where the installer kept saying it can't start the SQL Server service. Again, the solution offered by others are by moving both the extracted 'SQLSERVR.EXE' and 'SQLOS.DLL' files into the installation folder. I've tried this three times and yet the installer still couldn't finish the installation properly.
I also tried giving security access to Network Service in the installation folder's security option, and in the SQL Server folders as well. It didn't work.
I was ready to throw the white towel, but luckily I have a big brother who's a real "nerd". He always keep old files in his NAS and never delete them no matter what, so after hearing about this issue with SQL Server Express 2005, he offered me access to his archives to search for an old SQL Server Express 2005 SP4 64-bit installer. I found the file, launched it on the new Win 10 64-bit tablet, and voila everything installed properly and without a hitch whatsoever! It only took around 6-8 minutes for the installation to successfully complete, and now I can run the SQL-based database app again on the new tablet.
Conclusion
I still couldn't believe that the official SQL Server Express 2005 installer I've recently downloaded from Microsoft's website is not working, but instead an old installation file dusted off from the past do the job flawlessly. This is the main reason I'm sharing this story, I know how stressful it is, especially when your source of income is depending on it. And hopefully my story can help you too.
One more note
I've tried looking in every websites for that particular installer: SQL Server Express 2005 SP4 64-bit, but couldn't find it, not even in Microsoft's official pages. This raises a couple of questions in my mind, which I dare not say on this forum. Hopefully you guys have better luck than me, cheers.
Dhow here.