After a week of installing, uninstalling, hacking at the registry, and cutting and pasting files all over the place, yesterday I decided to wipe SQL 2008 RTM and VSTS 2008 off my box and to start over fresh.

Here is the history.

The end result of wiping everything off the box and then re-installing it resulted in being forced to use the C drive for all the VSTS files, about 4 gig worth.  SQL Server forces you to install BIDS to your C drive.  I selected the D: for every option, but it ignores the request.  This forces you to install all the VSTS files to your C drive, you get no other option.

I consider this to be a huge installation bug, and therefore will not be recommending the use of SQL Server 2008 to anyone, especially at work, where our systems do not have that much room and we use BIDS everywhere.  So Do NOT install SQL Server 2008 RTM if you do not have the room on your C drive for all of VSTS 2008 and SP1.

Two drives have been around since the beginning of time, to not account for that is a big oversight.

If the software I depend on to build software can not be built to be installed correctly, there is something wrong.  SQL Server was months late, of course that is 99% a marketing issue Microsoft has, but that should not become our problem.

They recall food with bacteria, they should recall this mess.

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati    reddit