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sryan1977
Level 4

SQL Server 2012 sp2 too large??

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I have been using an Advanced UI/Suite install for a few years. Recently I tried to update the SQL Server Express 2012 install we were including with the new service pack 2 install files. This caused my install to jump from 1.5GB to 2.5GB. After building the installing I tested it but found the setup.exe would not run. If I double-clicked it, nothing happened. No dialogs, no processes, no logs, no errors... nothing. If I turned the UAC on, then I would at least getting the notification that an exe was attempting to run. I would tell it to continue but again nothing would happen. I tried this on three computers (2 of which were new right out of the box) and had them same result.

I started experimenting by removing "features" one at a time to see if I could track down the cause of the problem. I found that if I removed either of the SQL Server packages (I have one for x86 and one for x64 since they are different install files) then my setup.exe decreases in size dramatically and it runs again (no problem).

So, I'm wondering, is there some sort of limit as to how big your setup.exe should be? Is there something else I'm missing here?

To provide more background, I am installing the SQL Server as a package in my Suite instead of as a redistributable because we are installing the "with tools" version which provides the Management Studio.

Any insight would be appreciated.
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MichaelU
Level 12 Flexeran
Level 12 Flexeran
Through the different project types, there are a handful of different limitations. The relevant ones are .msi files (including any cabs compressed within the .msi file) typically cannot exceed 2 GB; cabs themselves cannot contain files larger than 2GB, and exe files cannot launch if they are 4GB or larger.

Checking our records, we have logged IOA-000076255 which tracked a problem with compressed suite setup.exe files greater than 2GB, and it was resolved in InstallShield 2013. If upgrading InstallShield is an option for you, I would suggest investigating that. Otherwise you can look for other workarounds, such as creating a setup that is not just a single exe, such as an uncompressed or downloading package.

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MichaelU
Level 12 Flexeran
Level 12 Flexeran
Through the different project types, there are a handful of different limitations. The relevant ones are .msi files (including any cabs compressed within the .msi file) typically cannot exceed 2 GB; cabs themselves cannot contain files larger than 2GB, and exe files cannot launch if they are 4GB or larger.

Checking our records, we have logged IOA-000076255 which tracked a problem with compressed suite setup.exe files greater than 2GB, and it was resolved in InstallShield 2013. If upgrading InstallShield is an option for you, I would suggest investigating that. Otherwise you can look for other workarounds, such as creating a setup that is not just a single exe, such as an uncompressed or downloading package.
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sryan1977
Level 4
MichaelU wrote:
Through the different project types, there are a handful of different limitations. The relevant ones are .msi files (including any cabs compressed within the .msi file) typically cannot exceed 2 GB; cabs themselves cannot contain files larger than 2GB, and exe files cannot launch if they are 4GB or larger.

Checking our records, we have logged IOA-000076255 which tracked a problem with compressed suite setup.exe files greater than 2GB, and it was resolved in InstallShield 2013. If upgrading InstallShield is an option for you, I would suggest investigating that. Otherwise you can look for other workarounds, such as creating a setup that is not just a single exe, such as an uncompressed or downloading package.


I did find the "uncompressed" option and that seems to work. It has also sped up the install time surprisingly. The SQL installs I am using are exes which I use in prqs that are imported into my suite. Thanks for letting me know about 2013 but I think that's too expensive a solution at the moment.
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