The SQL Server service cannot start when you change a startup parameter for a clustered instance of SQL Server 2000 or of SQL Server 2005 to a value that is not valid

In a clustered environment, when you change a protocol parameter for a clustered instance of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to a value that is not valid, the SQL Server service cannot start. Additionally, you cannot change the protocol parameter back to the original value.

For example, when you use SQL Server Configuration Manager to set the Listen All setting for a clustered instance of SQL Server to No, the clustered instance of SQL Server cannot start. Additionally, the following error message is logged in the SQL Server error log:

This problem occurs because the cluster service obtains an incorrect protocol setting from a cluster checkpoint when you start the SQL Server service.

To work around this problem, follow these steps:

1. Bring the SQL Server resource offline by using Cluster Administrator.
2. At a command prompt, run one of the following commands to disable the cluster checkpoint for the specific registry subkey:
   • For an instance of SQL Server 2005, run the following command:
     cluster res "SQL Server (Instancename)" /removecheck: "Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.x\MSSQLSERVER"
     Note In this command, MSSQL.x is a placeholder for the instance ID for the instance of SQL Server. You can determine the corresponding value for the system from the value of the MSSQLSERVER registry entry in the following registry subkey:
     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\Instance Names\SQL\
   • For a default instance of SQL Server 2000, run the following command:
     cluster res "SQL Server (Instancename)" /removecheck: "Software\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\MSSQLSERVER"
   • For a named instance of SQL Server 2000, run the following command:
     cluster res "SQL Server (Instancename)" /removecheck: "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\InstanceName\MSSQLSERVER"
     Note In this command, InstanceName is a placeholder for the name of the SQL Server 2000 instance.
3. Correct the protocol parameter for the clustered instance of SQL Server on all nodes.
4. At a command prompt, run one of the following commands to enable the cluster checkpoint for the specific registry subkey:
   • For an instance of SQL Server 2005, run the following command:
     cluster res "SQL Server (Instancename)" /addcheck: "Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.x\MSSQLSERVER"
   • For a default instance of SQL Server 2000, run the following command:
     cluster res "SQL Server (Instancename)" /addcheck: "Software\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\MSSQLSERVER"
   • For a named instance of SQL Server 2000, run the following command:
     cluster res "SQL Server (Instancename)" /addcheck: "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\InstanceName\MSSQLSERVER"
5. Bring the SQL Server resource online.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

The 0x1c status code in the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section indicates that SQL Server is configured to listen on a specific IP address in a clustered environment. However, listening on a specific IP address is a configuration that is not valid for a clustered instance of SQL Server.

Another example of this problem occurs if the Virtual Interface Adapter (VIA) driver is not installed on the computer that is running the clustered instance of SQL Server 2005. After you enable the VIA protocol for the clustered instance of SQL Server 2005, the SQL Server service cannot start. Additionally, you cannot disable the VIA protocol for the clustered instance of SQL Server 2005.