SQLNCLi is NOT optional if you use msi only. Had to add: HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-20\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\AppData = "%USERPROFILE%\Application Data" as… Read More

Having followed Shuffles post from the "Notes" section, SQL installed perfect using only the MSI's. To create a new Instance using only MSI's, find the "sqlrun.msi" and use the standard setup.… Read More

Thinapp suggestion: http://blogs.vmware.com/thinapp/2009/03/how-to-thinapp-msdesql-2005-express.html Read More

For a complete default unattended installation ... Run SQLEXPR.EXE /x to extract the source files. Find the file template.ini (usually in the folder where the setup.exe file is). Open it and f… Read More

If you use the individual MSI method to install you will need to specify the features you want installed. The default install level is set to 90 and the features are set to 100. Read More

For Unattended install from the EXE: sqlexpr32.exe -q /norebootchk /qn reboot=ReallySuppress addlocal=all instancename=SQLEXPRESS SQLAUTOSTART=1 NOTES: You cannot force log files like a norm… Read More

You can use the .MSI's just fine. Install in this order for a basic setup: SqlSupport.msi (can be installed silently) sqlncli.msi (SQL Client - can be installed silently) SqlWriter.msi (can b… Read More

2005 is problematic in that you can't just use the MSIs, as the main one, SQLRUN, relies on some registry settings which Setup.EXE puts down. We captured those and created a pre-requisite MSI f… Read More