Step by step: Upgrading from Dynamics CRM 2011 beta on-premise to CRM 2011 RC on-premise

Hi,

I have recently upgraded my on-premise CRM 2011 beta to Release Candidate and decided to share here some screenshots and considerations about the process.

Scenario: a single Windows Server 2008 64 bits VM with on-premise Dynamics CRM 2011 beta and SQL Server 2008. This was a previous upgrade from CRM 4, following this process.

SERVER

First of all, after downloading the setup files from here and run CRM2011-Server-ENU-amd64.exe I got this 'predicable' error after extraction:

Setup has detected an earlier build of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 that is not supported for upgrade… (see below)

So, first step in the upgrade process is….

1. Uninstall previous beta install (obviously you should backup everything first so as to avoid loosing any important data and customizations, but, thinking twice, this may not be necessary as beta install is not supposed to be used in production, isn't it ? :p))

You can uninstall the CRM server as any other app, just clicking on Control Panel->Programs and Features.

2. Run SetupServer.exe (I recommend to run it as administrator to avoid any eventual problem)

3. Just in case, leave 'Get updates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM (recommended)' checked.

(no updates were available at the moment I run the setup)

4. Enter a valid product key for RC.

As stated here by Microsoft® you can use the following keys:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Workgroup Server (5 CAL limit): H84KC-JH8DF-7PDYK-TXBXR-2RMMT

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Server (no CAL limit): MQM2H-JYYRB-RRD6J-8WBBC-CVBD3

5. Accept the contract.

6. Select installation directory.

7. Specify Server Roles. All roles apply if installed in a single box.

8. This is one of the most important steps in the upgrade process if not the most important. You need to choose the option 'Connect to, and if necessary, upgrade an existing deployment' in order to upgrade from a previous beta install

Additionally, you will need to specify the SQL Server that has the beta DBs.

9. Specify the Service Accounts. NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE should be typically right. If not, you can specify here any other service account more suitable for you.

10. Select a Web Site where CRM web app and services will be set up.

11. If currently using E-Mail router, specify the server name here. In case it doesn't, just leave this blank.

12. System Checks. Some warnings may come up.

After clicking Next, in my case it took some time to see next step. I recommend you keep patient if also next step delays in being displayed.

In my case I run across the 'Action Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Server.AddLicenseAction failed' error. This is a 'know issue' and if this occurs within your setup too, you have to manually enter the license key in the ConfigSettings table in MSCRM_CONFIG, in the LicenseKeyV5RTM column.

You can easily complete this task with SQL Management Studio by using the following SQL statements:

use MSCRM_CONFIG
update ConfigSettings set LicenseKeyV5RTM = 'MQM2H-JYYRB-RRD6J-8WBBC-CVBD3'

After running the above and retrying, server setup should complete:

13. If you leave the 'Launch Reporting Extensions for SSRS setup' option checked you will be prompted with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Reporting Extensions Setup.

CRM Reporting extensions need to be installed on the SRS server. In my case as it was all in the same box, it was the same VM.

14. I just had two options 'Repair' and 'Uninstall'. A little bit confusing but anyway, I chose 'Repair' .

Just to mention, in my case I came up with this error that I ignored:

CLIENT

In order to install the client, you must also uninstall previous CRM 2011 Outlook client.

So:

1. Uninstall current client (Control Panel -> Programs and features)

2. Run CRM2011-Clent-ENU-[amd64/i386].exe (you can download it from here.)

I recommend to runt it as administrator so as to avoid any eventual problem.

3. Accept license agreement.

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4. Setup automatically downloads the prerequisites it needs.

5. After everything is installed, you have to run Configuration Wizard (Start->All Programs->Microsoft Dynamics CRM2011->Configuration Wizard)

6. Within Configuration Wizard, enter the CRM server URL, credentials and select the default organization. Your Outlook will synchronize with this organization and only with this organization.

7. If connection were successful, after wizard completed you should be able to work with your Outlook connected to the new, upgraded instance.

Hope you find this useful. Migrating to Release Candidate could be very helpful if you are trying on-premise beta and pretend to upgrade to RTM when released (announced to be released on Feb 28th). More details on why may be probably publicly announced within the following weeks.

PP.