PRB: SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and earlier are not supported by the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family

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This article was previously published under Q329329

SYMPTOMS

SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and earlier are not supported by the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family. When you install SQL Server 2000 on a computer running Windows Server 2003, you receive the following warning message:

SQL Server 2000 SP2 and below
SQL Server 2000 SP2 and below is not supported by this version of Windows. To run the program, click continue. For more information, click Details.

Additionally, you may experience unexpected behavior.

Note Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Edition (MSDE) Service Pack 2 (SP2) and earlier are also not supported on Windows 2003, but you do not receive a warning about them during the installation.

Note SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services SP2 and earlier are not supported on Windows Server 2003, and you will receive this warning message.

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CAUSE

This behavior occurs because SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and earlier and its components are not supported by the Windows Server 2003 family.

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WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, install SQL Server 2000 SP3 or later immediately after you install SQL Server 2000. For more detailed installation information, see the “More Information” section in this article.

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RESOLUTION

SQL Server 2000 SP2 configuration

If you are currently running SQL Server 2000 SP2 or earlier and you want to upgrade your operating system to Windows Server 2003 upgrade to SQL Server SP3 or higher, and then upgrade your operating system. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

290211 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290211/ ) How to obtain the latest SQL Server 2000 service pack

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SQL Server 2000 new installation

If you are installing SQL Server 2000 and Windows Server 2003 at the same time, follow these steps:

Install Windows Server 2003.
Install SQL Server 2000.

Note: You will receive the warning message. When you do, click OK.
Upgrade to SQL Server SP3 or later.

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MORE INFORMATION

For more information about SQL Server 2000 and Windows Server 2003, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

811054 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811054/ ) PRB: Virtual SQL Server 2000 installation fails on cluster that has eight nodes

For more information about support for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 or earlier and Windows Server 2003, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

810391 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810391/ ) INF: SQL Server 6.5, 7.0 and MSDE 1.0 support on Windows Server 2003

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