BUG: RegistryRebuild Option of Setup Is Not Documented

The RegistryRebuild option of SQL Server Setup is no longer documented.

When you use the RegistryRebuild option, Setup presents the same dialog boxes that it presents during a normal installation, but it does not install or change any files. When you see the dialog boxes, ensure that the paths are correct to the SQL files and Master.dat directories.

NOTE: Rebuilding the registry may not resolve all problems. A thorough backup of all database files should be performed prior to registry rebuild.

To Rebuild the SQL Server Registry Entries

1. From a command prompt, type the following:
   
   cd \mssql\binn
   setup /t RegistryRebuild = On
   
   NOTES:
   • For SQL Server version 6.0, you can use either = On or = True for the Setup command line.
   • For SQL Server version 6.0, the default directory is \sql60\binn.
   • Be sure to type the Setup command exactly as indicated, including capitalization. There must be a space on both sides of the equal sign.
2. This will bring up SQL Server setup. It will appear as though SQL Server is being reinstalled, but it is just re-writing the registry information. However, it is recommended you make a complete backup of your system before performing the registry rebuild.
   
   You will need to know the following information prior to running the registry rebuild:
   

         Name and Organization information
         Location of the current SQL Server installation
         Location and size of the current master database
         Whether or not you have books online installed
         Your character set and sort order
     
   						

   To determine your current character and sort order information, run the following command in the master database:
   
   sp_helpsort
   
   If your results are as follows, you have the default character set and sort order. If not, please see the Setup book in SQL Server Books Online to determine the correct character set and sort order choices for your installation:

         Sort Order Description
         ------------------------------------------------------------------
         Character Set = 1, iso_1
            ISO 8859-1 (Latin-1) - Western European 8-bit character set.
         Sort Order = 52, nocase
            Case-insensitive dictionary sort order for use with several
            Western-European languages including English, French, and German.
            Uses the ISO 8859-1 character set.
         Characters, in Order
            <removed Characters, in Order section>
    
   					

3. Setup may have difficulty locating certain .dll files. If this is the case, try typing the following from a command prompt:
   
   cd \mssql\dll
   ..\binn\setup /t RegistryRebuild = On

The RegistryRebuild option can be used to recover from a situation where the Windows NT registry has been either damaged, inadvertantly modified, or restored. You may need to rebuild the registry for SQL Server if:

• The system registry was recently restored. If the registry had to be restored after some failure, the key for SQL Server may not exist. A rebuild of the registry may also be required after starting Windows NT using the Last Known Good option of Windows NT.

• The SQL Server registry key was deleted from the registry.
• Windows NT was reinstalled and SQL Server already exists, or if SQL Server was restored from a backup after Windows NT was reinstalled.
• You receive Windows NT error 1060 (the specified service doesn't exist as an installed service), when you try to start SQL Server.

Additionally, in some cases, RegistryRebuild can help recover the SQL Performance Monitor counters if they cannot be seen.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft SQL Server version 6.5 documentation. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.