SQL Server 2008 CTP6 does not work on February 29th. Period.

On one hand, it is really nice that Microsoft is releasing Community Technology Previews for its latest SQL Server. It helps developers and DBAs to test their solutions and get familiar with the next version of SQL Server. On the other hand, since Microsoft still has many months before the final release, there are many bugs in these CTPs. This is certainly expected, this is the point of these CTPs. But there was one bug that nearly killed me.

As a last minute preparation for tomorrow’s SQL Bits event in Birmingham, I decided to check that my demo scripts work properly. I tried to connect to my SQL Server instance on my laptop, and was greeted with an unpleasant error message. Initially I was not worried, after a few minutes of fluffing around I started to blame the screen capturing application I’ve been asked to install for the event. After some more headache, I though, it was not worth the time, so I installed SQL Server 2008 CTP6 on a second laptop. Surprise! The installation has failed too. Same happened when I tried to install it on a virtual server, etc. So now, after three hours wasted, I’ve found a relevant bug report https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=330614

Apparently, SQL Server 2008 CTP6 does not work on 29 February. It is ironic that this is just two days after the launch of the product (the launch has nothing to do with the release).

Changing the system time to 1 March has temporarily resolved this issue :), but the bald patch on my head has grown today.