SQL 2012 SP1 Setup NetFx3 Error

Installing SQL 2012 SP1 on a brand new, fully patched Windows 2012 server can give you a rather cryptic error which mentions something called NetFx3. Setup doesn't bomb, though, and continues to the end, where it fails. The fix, easy enough.

When performing the SQL install, the setup program is supposed to check for prerequisites, and if any are missing, install them as needed. However, there appears to be a bug in the setup program, and a prerequisite is found, but not installed. Set up fails, after 20 minutes of file copying.

Here is the error message:

Pretty cryptic, no? NetFx3 actually refers to the .Net 3.5 framework, which is a dependency for SQL and the management tools to run correctly. Seems kind of hokey to me that SQL 2012 relies on .Net 3.5, but I guess not all the code could migrated at once, right? How would they get you to pay for yet another upgrade?

All you have to do is fire up Server Manager, and add the feature.

In Server Manager, at the upper right, click on Manage, then select Add Roles and Features
In the resultant wizard, click Next on the Before you Begin screen, then click Next again on the Installation Type screen.
You may have a Select Destination Server screen, if you manage multiple servers that Server Manager knows about. Select your targeted server, and click Next.
Click Next on the Select server roles screen, since we are not changing anything here.
On the Select features screen, put a check mark in the box next to .NET Framework 3.5 Features, then click Next.
The Confirmation installation selections screen gives you a summary of the tasks to be performed, as well as giving you the option of specifying an alternate source path.
If you do need to specify an alternate source path, click the appropriate link at the bottom of the window, and when prompted, enter the path of the source files.
After clicking Ok, you'll be back at the summary screen. At this point, click the Install button to begin the installation.

And that's it! If you did everything right, you should be able to install SQL 2012 now, with no issues.

Did I leave something out? Let me know in the comments.

About this post

Posted: 2014-01-16
By: dwirch
Viewed: 1,177 times

Comments

No comments have been added for this post.

You must be logged in to make a comment.