Rule “Restart computer” failed when installing SQL Server 2008

Question

When trying to install SQL Server 2008 Developer and Enterprise editions on a Windows 7 box I've got this message:

Rule "Restart computer" failed. A computer restart is required. You must restart this computer before installing SQL Server.

Of course I already restarted 10 times.

I've found a post in a forum saying that I should clear

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\PendingFileRenameOperations

but I don't have such a key.

Answer 1

Maybe there's a better solution, but the only one I could find was re-installing. Mental note: always install SQL Server first.

Answer 2

.... after installing SQL Server 2008 Express, put the value (might be multiple lines) back into this setting. So copy them somewhere!

Fix:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager is the path. "Session Manager" is the folder. "PendingFileRenameOperations" is the setting. Clear the value in that setting.

Common mistake:

You'll notice that there are more folders under the "Session Manager" folder. Don't look there. Those are sub-folders. Once you've clicked on the "Session Manager" folder, find the setting on the right.