[.NET General] SQL Server Express "incompatible components" failure

When trying to install the CTP release of SQL Server Express, you may get an error message informing you that "Setup has detected incompatible components, ..." blah, blah, blah.  It will tell you to run the "build uninstall wizard," sqlbuw.exe, but you may not have that installed anywhere on your system.  In fact, it may be rather hard to find. This problem has been discussed on nikop's WebLog. 

Having faced the same problem, the absence of sqlbuw.exe, I have found another solution that might help you get the necessary files.
  1. Go through the same install to the point where the error dialog box is on the screen. 
  2. Explore your hard drive and you should see a temporary directory where the SQL Server Express installation files are being cached.  It will be named with a bunch of hexidecimal numbers, probably right under the root on your C:\ drive.
  3. In that directory, find subdirectory "setup tools."
  4. In "setup tools," you should see a "build uninstall wizard" subdirectory.
  5. Copy the "build uninstall wizard" subdirectory to some temporary location on your system.
  6. Kill the install
  7. Run sqlbuw.exe from the command line in the temporary directory you copied.
This worked fine for me.  YMMV.



1 Comment

  • I have this problem,can you instruct me.

    I have installed Visual Studio 6.0 and in the past I'd installed client of SQL Server-2000.

    For the aim to install SQL Server Express I'd

    downloaded and installed Microsoft.Net Framework 2.0 Beta and after that SQL Server Express.Then I tryed to install it I'd recieved

    that message

    "Setup has detected incompatible components, ..." blah, blah, blah

    Can you contact to me email:mic_tr@hotmail.com?

    Thank you

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