Link to System Update Readiness Tool for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 that can help fix OS update install errors

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I have heard from several customers in the past who have had issues installing hotfixes or updates for Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.  This type of problem can happen during .NET Framework 3.5 setup and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 setup because these products install service packs for the .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.0 behind the scenes, and those service packs are OS updates on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 because the .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.0 are installed as OS components on those OS's.

In the past, when customers have contacted me with Windows Vista OS and Windows Server 2008 update installation errors, the options I have been able to give them to help resolve the errors were pretty limited - I typically suggested trying to run the SFC tool and/or suggested upgrading to Windows Vista SP1.  I just noticed a knowledge base article that has been posted for a little while that provides a tool that can help solve Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 OS update installation problems and I wanted to link to it here to help people find it in the future.

Information about the tool

The tool is called the System Update Readiness Tool, and the Windows Vista version of this tool is described in more detail in the knowledge base article at https://support.microsoft.com/kb/947821.

This tool will scan your Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 system to search for inconsistencies in the files and registry information related to installed OS components and OS updates that can lead to future OS updates failing to install correctly.  If any are found, it tries to resolve them to put your system back into a known state.  The knowledge base article lists the exact files and registry locations that the tool will scan and attempt to repair.  It also lists some of the return codes that can be reported by OS updates that the tool can typically fix for you.

Where to download the tool

Here are download locations for the System Update Readiness Tool for Windows Vista:

How to tell if the tool will help if you encounter .NET Framework 2.0 SP or 3.0 SP install failures on Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008

The System Update Readiness Tool might help in the following .NET Framework installation scenarios:

  • Installing the original release of the .NET Framework 3.5 on the original release of Windows Vista
  • Installing the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 on Windows Vista SP1
  • Installing the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 on Windows Server 2008

If you are encountering a problem with one of the above installation scenarios, it could be caused by a failure to install one of the .NET Framework 2.0 or 3.0 OS update packages.  The exact setup return codes will be listed in the setup log file named %temp%\dd_dotnetfx35install*.txt (from the list in this blog post).  You can search for the exact return code from .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 or SP2 setup by looking for a line like the following (where #### is the actual numerical return code on your system):

[05/01/08,09:09:09] Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0SP1 (CBS): C:\Windows\system32\WUSA.exe exited with return value ####.

You can search for the exact return code from .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 or SP2 setup by looking for a line like the following (where #### is the actual numerical return code on your system):

[05/01/08,09:09:09] Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0SP1 (CBS): C:\Windows\system32\WUSA.exe exited with return value ####.

 

<update date="8/19/2008"> Added links for the Windows Server 2008 version of the System Update Readiness Tool because it can be useful when trying to troubleshoot .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 install issues on Windows Server 2008. </update>

<update date="8/26/2008"> Added link to the Windows Server 2008 ia64 version of the System Update Readiness Tool. </update>

<update date="1/7/2009"> Fixed broken links to some versions of the System Update Readiness tool. </update>