Description of the test hotfix of build 10.00.1456 for SQL Server 2008 Release Candidate 0

This article describes the test hotfix of build 10.00.1458 for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 (RC0). Apply this test hotfix in a test environment only. Do not apply this test hotfix in a production environment.

This test hotfix updates over 1,000 files. However, this test hotfix updates the file versions only. This test hotfix does not include any code changes.

This test hotfix is released in the following versions:

• The 32-bit version
• The x64-based version
• The Itanium-based version

The following section uses the 32-bit version as an example.

Known issues in this test hotfix

• After you apply this test hotfix, the entry for this test hotfix does not appear in Add or Remove Programs.
• When you apply this test hotfix, you cannot obtain the Help information from the user interface.
• After you remove this test hotfix, the SQL Server service can no longer decrypt data in encrypted columns because the permission to do this is removed. When this problem occurs, the following error message is logged in the SQL Server error log:
  <Date> <Time> spid7s Error: 15466, Severity: 16, State: 1.
  <Date> <Time> spid7s An error occurred during decryption.
  To work around this problem, repair the instance of SQL Server after you remove this test hotfix. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. In Control Panel, open Add or Remove Programs.
  2. In Add or Remove Programs, click Microsoft SQL Server 2008 RC0, and then click Change/Remove.
  3. In the SQL Server 2008 dialog box, click Repair.
  4. In the Browse For Folder dialog box, locate the folder that contains the SQL Server 2008 RC0 installation files, and then click OK.

These known issues will be fixed in the release version of the hotfix installer.

How to apply this test hotfix

You can apply this test hotfix by using the user interface or by using a command prompt. However, if you want to remove this test hotfix, you must use a command prompt.

By default, when you apply this test hotfix by using the user interface, the test hotfix is applied on all the shared features and on the instances that you specify.

Method 1: Use the user interface

To apply this test hotfix by using the user interface, follow these steps:

1. To start the installation wizard, double-click the SQLServer2008-KB954325-x86.exe file.
2. Follow the steps in the installation wizard.

Method 2: Use a command prompt

To apply this test hotfix by using a command prompt, use one of the following methods.

Method A: Apply this test hotfix on one instance of SQL Server 2008 RC0 and on all the shared features

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. Switch to the folder that contains the hotfix file.
3. Run the following command:
   SQLServer2008-KB954325-x86.exe /q /Action=Patch /InstanceName=<InstanceName>

Method B: Apply this test hotfix on the shared features only

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. Switch to the folder that contains the hotfix file.
3. Run the following command:
   SQLServer2008-KB954325-x86.exe /q /Action=Patch

Method C: Apply this test hotfix on all the instances of SQL Server 2008 RC0 and on all the shared features

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. Switch to the folder that contains the hotfix file.
3. Run the following command:
   SQLServer2008-KB954325-x86.exe /q /Action=Patch /Allinstances

How to remove this test hotfix

To remove this test hotfix by using a command prompt, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Remove this test hotfix from one instance of SQL Server 2008 RC0 and from all the shared features

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. Switch to the following folder:
   %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Update Cache\KB954325\QFE
3. Run the following command:
   Setup.exe /q /Action=RemovePatch /InstanceName=<InstanceName>

Method 2: Remove this test hotfix from all the shared features only

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. Switch to the following folder:
   %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Update Cache\KB954325\QFE
3. Run the following command:
   Setup.exe /q /Action=RemovePatch

Note Before you remove this test hotfix from all the shared features, remove this test hotfix from all the instances of SQL Server. Do this because the build of the shared features cannot be earlier than the builds of the instances of SQL Server.

How to apply or remove this test hotfix for SQL Server 2008 RC0 failover clusters

We support SQL Server 2008 RC0 failover clusters that are running on the following Windows operating systems:

• The 32-bit editions of Windows Server 2008
• The x64-based edition of Windows Server 2008
• All the editions of Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 (SP2)

We do not support the following situations:

• SQL Server 2008 RC0 failover clusters that are running on Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems
• SQL Server 2008 RC0 failover clusters that are running in Windows on Windows (WOW) mode

How to apply this test hotfix on a SQL Server 2008 RC0 failover cluster

1. Bring half of the cluster nodes offline.
2. Apply this test hotfix on the offline cluster nodes by using one of the previously described methods.
3. Bring all the cluster nodes online.
4. Fail over to the cluster nodes that you brought online in step 3.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for the other half of the cluster nodes.

In Windows Server 2003, you bring a cluster node online or offline by using Cluster Administrator. In Windows Server 2008, you bring a cluster node online or offline by using Failover Cluster Management.

When you bring a cluster node offline, the cluster node is removed from the list of possible owners of the failover cluster. When you bring a cluster node online, the cluster node is added to the list of possible owners of the failover cluster.

How to remove this test hotfix from a SQL Server 2008 RC0 failover cluster

1. Bring half of the cluster nodes offline.
2. Remove this test hotfix from the offline cluster nodes by using one of the previously described methods.
3. Bring all the cluster nodes online.
4. Fail over to the cluster nodes that you brought online in step 3.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for the other half of the cluster nodes.