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getting below error while installing microsoft sql server 2025

Manisha Shinde 0 Reputation points
2026-05-25T16:59:03.3033333+00:00

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SQL Server Database Engine
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  1. Bruce (SqlWork.com) 84,061 Reputation points
    2026-05-25T22:00:47.4566667+00:00

    There are two common issues. As stated you need to look in detailed log to get the actual issue.

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  2. Erland Sommarskog 134.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-05-25T21:23:33.05+00:00

    The gist of this error message is that SQL Server did not start when Setup wanted to run post-configuration. There can be multiple reasons for this. The by far most common reason is a known issue where Windows reports a disk sector size that SQL Server is not able to cope with. To verify that you are victim to this problem, you should look in the SQL Server error log which you find in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL17.SQLEXRESS\MSSQL\LOG\ERRORLOG and look for a message that talks about 256 misaligned reads.

    Microsoft has published the article Troubleshoot SQL Server errors related to system disk sector size greater than 4 KB which discusses workarounds for this problem. Basically, you need to make the registry edit described in the article. Very important! You need to reboot Windows for the change to take effect.

    If you don't find the message about 256 misaligned reads, please upload the ERRORLOG so that we can take a look. (You will need to rename it to ERRORLOG.txt for the forum software to accept it.)

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  3. AI answer

    2026-05-25T16:59:18.5666667+00:00

    The message “Wait on the Database Engine recovery handle failed” means the SQL Server Database Engine service did not start during setup. The next step is to use the error log that setup points to and then the SQL Server ERRORLOG to find the root cause.

    Follow these steps:

    1. Open the setup log folder shown in the dialog
      • From the screenshot: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\170\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20260525_222240 (the exact timestamp folder may differ).
      • Review the summary and detail logs in that folder to confirm that the failure is on the Database Engine startup step.
    2. Open the SQL Server ERRORLOG
      • For SQL Server 2025 Express, the default error log path is similar to:
        • C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL17.SQLEXPRESS\MSSQL\LOG\ERRORLOG
      • Open ERRORLOG in a text editor and look at the messages around the time of the failed installation.
    3. Check specifically for disk sector size / misaligned I/O messages
      • If the log contains text about “256 misaligned reads” or misaligned log I/O, this is a known issue on some Windows 11/modern disks where the reported physical sector size is not supported by SQL Server.
      • In that case, apply the workarounds described in the article on troubleshooting 4KB disk sector size issues, then rerun the SQL Server 2025 Express setup.
    4. If there is no misaligned I/O message
      • Use the ERRORLOG details to identify the exact startup error (for example, permission, path, or configuration problems) and correct that issue, then rerun setup.
      • If needed, share the ERRORLOG contents (after masking any sensitive data) in a support channel so others can interpret the specific failure.

    The key action is to inspect ERRORLOG under the MSSQL17.<instance>\MSSQL\LOG folder, because the generic setup dialog cannot show the underlying cause.

    References:

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