08/11/2009 23:41:27

This Release Notes document describes known issues that you should read about before you install or troubleshoot SQL Server 2008. This document also provides search tips to help you find more known issues in Knowledge Base (KB) articles on the Microsoft Help and Support Web site. The Release Notes document and the KB articles supplement SQL Server 2008 Books Online.

This Release Notes document also applies to the following products:

SQL Server 2008 Express
SQL Server 2008 Express with Advanced Services
SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools

The Release Notes document is available only online, not on the installation media, and is updated periodically. The current version of this file is available on the Release Notes download page.

For information about how to get started with installing SQL Server 2008, see the SQL Server 2008 Readme. The Readme is available on the installation media and from the Readme download page.

The SQL Server 2008 Service Pack updates an existing installation of all editions of SQL Server 2008 including SQL Server Express. The SQL Server 2008 Express (SQL Server Express) Service Pack installs new instances of SQL Server Express including the service pack or upgrades instances of SQL Server Express to the service pack. The SQL Server Express Service Pack can also be used to upgrade instances of Microsoft SQL Server Express 2005 or SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (also known as MSDE 2000) to SQL Server Express. Service packs are cumulative and include previously released service packs and hot fixes.

Release Notes for Service Pack 1

For a list of the bugs that are fixed in SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1, see KB article 968369. The following KB articles highlight some of the known issues that are important to read before you upgrade SQL Server 2008.

KB ID	Summary
968693	Some queries that use the OPTION(RECOMPILE) statement may take longer to execute.
956427	This KB article, "You cannot add a cluster node when you install SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services and you do not install the SQL Server 2008 Database Engine," has been modified to describe an improved suggested resolution.
956021	The About, Execute, and Close buttons are missing when you run the Execute Package Utility in the Chinese (Taiwan) version of SQL Server 2008.
955 7 69	The Shared Memory protocol for an instance of SQL Server 2008 is always enabled and the VIA protocol for the instance is always disabled after you repair the instance.
95877 8	The default instance name is set incorrectly to SQLEXPRESS when you install SQL Server Express.

What's New in Service Pack 1

The following features are new in Service Pack 1.

Slipstreaming is an installation method that integrates the base installation files for a program with its service packs and enables them to be installed in a single step. You can slipstream a SQL Server 2008 update and the original installation media so that original media and the update are installed at the same time. The update setup documentation available from the Download Center has the most recent description of the slipstream process. The update setup documentation is also available at MSDN.
You can uninstall SQL Server 2008 cumulative updates or service packs from Programs and Features in Control Panel. For more information, see "Overview of SQL Server Servicing Installation" in the update help file.
SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 provides a ClickOnce version of Report Builder 2.0. Report Builder is available for use in Reporting Services (SSRS) installed in native or SharePoint integrated mode. If SSRS is installed in SharePoint integrated mode, you need to install the add-in, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Report Builder 2.0 ClickOnce for SharePoint, to make Report Builder 2.0 ClickOnce available from a SharePoint site. For more information, see the Report Builder 2.0 ClickOnce for SharePoint Readme.

Release Notes for the Original Release

Before You Install

Before you install SQL Server 2008, read the following required actions and KB articles.

Required Actions

If you have installed Visual Studio 2008 or have installed prerelease versions of SQL Server 2008, you might have to perform prerequisite actions before you install SQL Server 2008. To determine which actions that you might have to perform, use the following table.

Visual Studio 2008 installation status	SQL Server 2008 installation status	Required action before you install SQL Server 2008
Is not installed.	Prerelease version was never installed.	No action is required.
Is not installed.	Prerelease version is currently or was previously installed.	Follow these steps: Uninstall the prerelease version of SQL Server 2008. Additionally, you might have to uninstall Visual Studio 2008 features that were added by a prerelease installation of SQL Server 2008. In Windows, use Add or Remove Programs and uninstall the following features if they are installed: Visual Studio 2008 Shell (integrated mode) and Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0.
Is installed, and the release version of Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is not installed.	Prerelease version was never installed.	Perform one of the following options: Install Visual Studio 2008 SP1 before you install SQL Server 2008. Uninstall Visual Studio 2008, and then install SQL Server 2008. After SQL Server 2008 is installed, you can install Visual Studio 2008 and then install Visual Studio 2008 SP1. Do not install the following components of SQL Server 2008 that require Visual Studio 2008: Management Tools (both Basic or Complete), Integration Services, and Business Intelligence Development Studio features. If you want to later install any of these features, you must first install Visual Studio 2008 SP1.
Is installed, and the release version of Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is not installed.	Prerelease version is currently or was previously installed.	Follow these steps: Uninstall the prerelease version of SQL Server 2008. Perform one of the following options: Install Visual Studio 2008 SP1 before you install SQL Server 2008. Uninstall Visual Studio 2008, and then install SQL Server 2008. After SQL Server 2008 is installed, you can install Visual Studio 2008 and then install Visual Studio 2008 SP1. Do not install the following components of SQL Server 2008 that require Visual Studio 2008: Management Tools (both Basic or Complete), Integration Services, and Business Intelligence Development Studio features. If you want to later install any of these features, you must first install Visual Studio SP1.
Visual Studio 2008 SP1 release version is installed.	Prerelease version was never installed.	No action is required.
Visual Studio 2008 SP1 release version is installed.	Prerelease version is currently installed.	Uninstall the prerelease version of SQL Server 2008.

If you install Visual Studio 2008 after you have installed SQL Server 2008, you must install Visual Studio 2008 SP1 to have a supported configuration. Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is not required if you did not install the following features that require Visual Studio 2008: Management Tools (both Basic or Complete), Integration Services, and Business Intelligence Development Studio.

For more information about how to install SQL Server 2008 with Visual Studio 2008, see the blog entry SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 SP1, and .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 Explained on MSDN and KB article 956139. For more information about Visual Studio 2008 SP1, see this Visual Studio Web site.

Connecting to SQL Server 2008 from Visual Studio 2005 requires downloading and installing Visual Studio 2005 Support for SQL Server 2008.

Known Issues to Read First

The following KB articles highlight known issues that are important to read before you install SQL Server 2008. To find more KB articles about installation, use this Before You Install query.

KB ID	Summary
956139	Visual Studio 2008 SP1 may be required for SQL Server 2008 installations
956718	FIX: A MERGE statement may not enforce a foreign key constraint when the statement updates a unique key column that is not part of a clustering key that has a single row as the update source in SQL Server 2008
956427	You cannot add a cluster node when you install SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services and you do not install the SQL Server 2008 Database Engine
956005	The status indicator for a SQL Server 2008 mirror database differs from SQL Server 2005
955949	Cluster upgrade to SQL Server 2008 fails when SQL Server 2005 cluster nodes have different installed features
955396	How to troubleshoot SQL Server 2008 Setup issues
956138	You cannot upgrade a non-English instance of SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services to SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
955399	If upgrade to SQL Server 2008 fails, uninstall the upgrade before retrying the upgrade
955973	You might receive this error message when you try to upgrade to SQL Server 2008 on a computer that is running Windows Server: "Access to the path '<Path>\perf-MSSQL$SQL2008sqlctr.dll' is denied"
955389	How SQL Server 2008 updates what feature usage data to collect

How to Find More Known Issues

We recommend that you view more known issues by searching for "SQL Server 2008" on the Microsoft Support Web site. To find KB articles on specific topics, click any of the following suggested searches, or create your own custom search strings.

Before You Install, Upgrade, and Configure SQL Server 2008
Analysis Services
Connectivity
Database Engine
Failover Cluster
Full-text Search
Integration Services
Logo Certification
Replication
Reporting Services
Tools

You can also join the SQL Server Community to share your experiences and learn from other people who are using SQL Server 2008. For more information, see the SQL Server Community Web site.

SQL Server 2008 Books Online is the primary documentation for SQL Server 2008. You can view SQL Server 2008 Books Online on MSDN, or download a stand-alone version from the SQL Server 2008 Books Online download page.

Additional Issues

Error and Usage Reporting Help Button Does Not Respond. If you click the Help button in the SQL Server Error and Usage Reporting dialog box, it does not respond. To view the content, see Error and Usage on MSDN.