SQL Server Installation Error: Rule "SQL Server 2005 Express tools" failed - RESOLVED

Scenario

• I have a VMWare with Windows 2008 Server, running MS SQL 2005.
• The requirement was to install MS SQL 2008 version in the same VM.
• While installing MS SQL 2008, I chose all the features (DB Engine, Analysis Services, Reporting Services, Business Intelligence & All Client Tools)
• The connection to these servers is done from the host system.

Problem

Since MS SQL 2005 was already installed, the installation wizard failed at the Installation rules section, with the following error

Possible Solutions

Solution #1

1. Go to Add Remove Programs and uninstall MS SQL 2005 client tools
2. I want the client tools of MS SQL 2005, as I am using it for another project demo

Solution #2

To avoid the process of uninstalling, we need to change certain registry keys.

1. Open Run Menu and type regedit.
2. It will open Registry Editor
3. Now go to following location.
1. (32Bit) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft > Microsoft SQL Server > 90
2. (64Bit) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Wow6432Node > Microsoft > Microsoft SQL Server > 90
4. ** Remove Registry Key 90 which maps to MS SQL 2005. There is a folder and key generated for compatibility. If my database should be made compatible with MS SQL 2005 it should have a compatibility code of 90, for MS SQL 2008 it should be 100 and so on. The standard values are given below

• 90 = SQL Server 2005 
• 100 = SQL Server 2008 
• 110 = SQL Server 2012 
• 120 = SQL Server 2014
• 130 = SQL Server 2016 Community Technology Preview 2 (CTP2)
• ** If you are not comfortable to delete the key from the registry, try renaming it. If installation goes on well, you can delete it.

Solution #3

For me the above solutions did not make too much difference, as I was using a VMware for installation of SQL Server 2008.

I decided, to finally not add the client components of SQL Server 2008 as there is some dependency on SQL Server 2005 client tools.

The final attempt was just install server components on the VMware and install Client tools in the host machine.

This method worked well for me.

In a lot of cases, Solution #2 works absolutely fine.

# Option 4

It is also suggested (This was what I saw in msdn discussions) while installing two versions of MS SQL Server, 

to keep the installation & data base directories different.

Although this trick did not work for me, I do not suggest this as a solution

Hope you find one of the above solutions useful