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I tried to fix this using different methods but none of it worked
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/2337222/unable-to-install-sql-server-exit-code-(decimal)-2
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/database-engine/database-file-operations/troubleshoot-os-4kb-disk-sector-size?WT.mc_id=DP-MVP-5440&tabs=PowerShell#resolution-steps-for-disk-sector-size-errors-in-sql-server followed these two articles but still couldnt find an answer. please help kind of a urgent situation
Core component of SQL Server for storing, processing, and securing data
Answer recommended by moderator
Reformatting and reinstalling on a new laptop? That's does not sound appealing. From where would you reinstall Windows? The same image as it was originally created from? Then maybe not (that is, I don't know). If you take a plain default image? More likely, but then you might be missing support stuff from the laptop vendor.
The message Wait on the Database Engine recovery handle failed is a generic error that means that SQL Server did not start when Setup wanted to run configuration steps. To understand why it did not start, you need to look in the SQL Server errorlog, which you find in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL16.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\LOG\ERRORLOG.
If you see a message about 256 misaligned reads, you are running into a known issue where Windows 11 for some disk drives reports a sector size that SQL Server does not cope with. Microsoft has published an article with workarounds for the problem.
If you don't see the message about misaligned reads, feel free to upload the errorlog here, so we can look at it. You will need to rename to ERRORLOG.txt for the forum software to accept it.
the log folder you gave location to is empty.
in this location there are a lot of txt files which i cant quite tell which is the error log. so i will upload the whole folder as a zip file.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T4o8SzoRBV2ohEToslk6TI50sgna0s1c/view?usp=sharing
Thanks for uploading the files! They help to clarify your situation.
Normally, when you get the error message about the startup handle, what happens is that SQL
Server starts, creates the log file, and the fails during the startup phase.
But in your case SQL Server does not start at all. This can be more difficult to troubleshoot.
Before we move on, I like to know a little about your environment. I this a corporate computer, or your private laptop? In the latter case, what antivirus do you have? Windows Defender or something else?
Open a command prompt with Run as Administrator. Run this:
cd \Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL16.MSSQLSERVER04\MSSQL\BINN
sqlservr -s MSSQLSERVER04
Please share a screenshot of this experiment.
I like to add that the disk-sector issue that I mentioned in my original post is not in play here. If this would be the only problem, there would be an errorlog-file. However, I recommend that you review the article that i linked to and run the diagnostic command in that article and verify that no number is > 4096. If you see some values above this limit, apply the registry edits suggested in the article and reboot. This is not going to help with the problem you are facing now, but if we are able to resolve the issue you are facing now, this saves you from getting into more trouble.
so this is my private laptop bought it a few days ago. and i dont have any other antivirus only windows defender.
also i forgot to work with ssms i wanted to install sql server. so i installed ssms first and then moved to this. i dont think this matters but just wanted to state it.
i didnt get any result from the command given above. it pauses for a moment and do nothing.
and yes i followed the above given article and did the changes given accordingly
And this new laptop is an x64 machine and not an ARM?
also i forgot to work with ssms i wanted to install sql server. so i installed ssms first and then moved to this. i dont think this matters but just wanted to state it.
Don't know exactly what this means, but SSMS and SQL Server are separate installs. If all you are saying that you first installed SSMS and then SQL Server that should not matter.
so this is my private laptop bought it a few days ago. and i dont have any other antivirus only windows defender
Maybe you should double-check, so that the vendor hasn't sneaked an antivirus you did not want. Then, an antivirus that bites on SQL Server - that's a little extreme.
Did you check the event viewer if there was an error message related to your attempt to start SQL Servre?
This is not a funny situation. You could use Process Monitor from sysinternals when you try to start SQL Server from the command-line window. Then you might find where things go wrong. But this is definitely troubleshooting on the advanced side. It can easily take you deep into the rabbit hole.
The other alternative is to use Docker to create a virtual machine and install SQL Server on the VM.
will it work if i formats and reinstall windows
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Hi @Ometh Dasanayake ,
Thanks @Erland Sommarskog for your inputs.
Just checking back to see if this helped clarify things. Did you end up trying a clean install (OEM vs. vanilla Windows), or did you go a different route? If you’re still stuck, let us know what you tested and what the current behavior is we can dig in further.
And if this answered your question, please consider marking the above solutions that helped as the solution so others can find it easily.
Thanks,
Akhil.