By: Derek Colley | Comments (1) | Related: > Install and Uninstall
Problem
This tip aims to provide a description of Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2012, including a description of the contents, the changes it makes to the SQL Server product family, identified bugs (and hotfixes to correct them), a description of the installation process and links for the download and further information.
Solution
IMPORTANT
SP1 for 2012 is 'notorious' in that after SP1 is installed on certain server configurations, the SQL Server Installer process starts repeatedly and CPU usage will ramp up. Event numbers 1001 and 1004 (source: MsiInstaller) will appear in the Windows Application Log. The installation of SQL Server may be unusable after this occurs. This problem has been acknowledged by Microsoft in KB2793634 (see bottom for link) and can be temporarily worked around by pausing the NGEN service in the services.msc panel in Windows. A hotfix is available from Microsoft, although if you have installed any other hotfixes or Cumulative Update (CU) 1 since the installation of SQL Server 2012 RTM, you may wish to upgrade to CU2 instead rather than rollback individual hotfixes.
Issues Fixed
SQL Server Service Pack 1 (SP1) is the first Service Pack released for the SQL Server 2012 product. It fixes 90 bugs identified in the RTM version of the product, from performance issues to software glitches. A complete list can be found below and is also available from Microsoft in the link supplied under 'More Information':
| VSTS bug number | KB article number | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 977015 | 2746012 | FIX: Availability group failover takes a long time if a database in the availability group contains a FileTable in SQL Server 2012 |
| 838761 | 2645920 | FIX: New Availability Group Wizard-generated scripts skip the steps for joining a secondary database to an availability group in SQL Server 2012 |
| 871327 | 2699720 | FIX: You experience a deadlock condition when you run multiple SSIS packages in SQL Server 2012 |
| 917018 | 2705571 | FIX: SQL Server Data Quality Client is for when you try to delete a data quality project after you install Cumulative Update 1 for SQL Server 2012 |
| 898170 | 2712972 | SQL Server 2012 DQS Export to 64-bit .xls Excel file fails with error |
| 968815 | 2727221 | FIX: You cannot install a SQL Server 2012 cluster instance on a Server Core operating system that contains an existing cluster instance |
| 1012760 | 2774422 | FIX: Master Data Services Add-in for Excel cannot be installed on a computer that has Microsoft Office 2013 installed |
| 1021897 | 2774426 | FIX: An attribute in a change tracking group is reset and flagged as unchanged in SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services |
| 925157 | 2774432 | FIX: "The client version is incompatible with the database version" error when you use MDS to create a web application after you install the cumulative update packages for SQL Server 2012 |
| 954940 | 2774434 | FIX: "Cannot write into file 'dqs_certificate.cer'" error when you install Data Quality Services on a different path than the instance of SQL Server 2012 |
| 966140 | 2774437 | FIX: Data Quality Services can be installed in the Standard edition of SQL Server 2012 unexpectedly |
| 884792 | 2774439 | An update that improves the Data Quality Services (DQS) installation output log in SQL Server 2012 is available |
| 886202 | 2774442 | FIX: Hierarchies are not alphabetically sorted when you explore them by using Master Data Services in SQL Server 2012 |
| 965239 | 2723814 | You experience slow synchronization between primary and secondary replicas in SQL Server 2012 |
| 825067 | n/a | "View Sample Records" is disabled in the "discovery" process in SQL Server Data Quality Services (DQS). |
| 825141 | n/a | Vertical scroll of Log Severity data grid is missing in DQS. |
| 842186 | n/a | New clause is incorrectly added to a previous rule of the current or previous domain in DQS. |
| 852637 | n/a | Empty "Name" column is not published as NULL in DQS. |
| 859290 | n/a | A child domain of a composite domain is not formatted when the child domain has a specific formatting. |
| 874949 | n/a | A read-only user who is in a group that has update permission can perform an update operation. |
| 878653 | n/a | "IsolatedStorageException" exception when you try to access an entity in Master Data Services in InPrivate Browsing mode in Internet Explorer. |
| 879875 | n/a | A date time column does not increase for every 20 rows that are updated to the Remote Date Services in SQL Server 2012. |
| 880547 | n/a | No results are displayed when you search a value in a Hebrew string. |
| 881023 | n/a | An unhandled exception occurs when you try to sign in to a Data Quality Project in DQS. |
| 882088 | n/a | "File download failed, check that the export destination file does not already exist" error when you try to export to an Excel file in DQS. |
| 882306 | n/a | "The given key was not present in the dictionary" error when you approve the changes in a newly-added term-based relation in DQS. |
| 891191 | n/a | Explicit hierarchies are corrupted because of circular references in SQL Server 2012. |
| 891468 | n/a | "Windows PowerShell is not installed on this server" error when you launch Configuration Manager. |
| 896478 | n/a | Installation operation fails when you run the DQSInstaller.exe file to install DQS server if you specify the "&" character in the password for the database master key. |
| 902725 | n/a | "Failed to save Configuration Name" error when a Windows user whose name has accented characters tries to open a data quality project by using Data Quality Client. |
| 905104 | n/a | Updated knowledge bases cannot be used in an already-open cleansing project in DQS. |
| 907179 | n/a | Incorrect error message is displayed when you try to use Data Quality Client. |
| 916173 | n/a | The sort order is corrupted when you run the [mdm].[udpAttributeSave] stored procedure against an existing attribute in SQL Server 2012. |
| 932693 | n/a | "Login failed for user ' |
| 935253 | n/a | Cannot publish business rules when attributes contain "&" in the attribute name in Master Data Services. |
| 935653 | n/a | An access violation occurs when executing a substring function together with an invalid offset by using remote procedure call (RPC). |
| 949931 | n/a | "Date Postfix Argument Expected" error if you create a "has changed" business rule for an attribute of "DateTime" type in Master Data Services web UI. |
| 954328 | n/a | "An unexpected error occurred during the last correction process" error when you try to run DQS data cleansing in SQL Server 2012. |
| 956115 | n/a | DQS violation error message is hard to understand when you use the Master Data Services Add-in for Microsoft Excel or the Master Data Services web UI. |
| 956194 | n/a | Cannot hard delete any soft-deleted members from the Master Data Services database. |
| 956431 | n/a | Incorrect popup message when you create matching policy and then run a data matching project in DQS. |
| 962881 | n/a | A .NET Framework 4.5-based application freezes instead of handling the exception when you use the Master Data Services Add-in for Excel. |
| 966134 | n/a | "String or binary data would be truncated" error when the length of a SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) DQS cleansing component name is longer than 32 characters. |
| 972072 | n/a | "SQL46010: Incorrect syntax near SPARSE" error in a SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) project. |
| 973194 | n/a | The TSqlParser.ParseSubQueryExpressionWithOptionalCTE() method returns NULL for a SELECT statement that contains a common table expression (CTE) and a pair of parentheses in an SSDT project. |
| 978657 | n/a | You cannot publish a business rule when the rule contains a "Equals a Concatenated Value" or "Must be Unique" action, and the selected attribute name has more than 128 characters. |
| 979356 | n/a | Msg 515, Level 16, State 2, Procedure udp_test_Leaf, Line 335 Cannot insert the value NULL into column 'Code', table 'MDS.mdm.tblStgErrorDetail'; column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails" error when you insert the NULL value into a column that allows for code in the tblStgErrorDetail table. |
| 1017627 | n/a | Relationship staging tables do not have an index in the BatchTag column. When there are many records in a batch staging table, a staging process experiences slow performance. SQL Server 2012 SP1 adds an index on the BatchTag column. |
| 1022009 | n/a | SQL Server 2012 SP1 now enables the String values to be converted to the Numeric values. |
| 861978 | n/a | An error occurs, and you cannot find the SQL Server Reporting Services instance that you want to upgrade. |
| 887180 | n/a | Setup program (uninstall or remove node) does not delete a service when the service is marked for deletion. |
| 895610 | n/a | The 32-bit version of the SQL Server 2012 Express component is not updated when you install SQL Server support on 64-bit versions of Windows. |
| 934788 | n/a | You cannot uninstall the localized shared feature in SQL Server Service Packs. |
| 936548 | n/a | FIX: The value of UpdateDescription attribute is empty in the SQL Server 2012 SP1 Express edition slipstream package. |
| 1025500 | n/a | Shared features are not discovered in the feature selection page after you install SQL Server 2012 SP1. |
| 918421 | n/a | "Try the installation again using a valid copy of the installation package 'sqlls.msi'." error when you try to repair SQL Server 2012. |
| 923970 | n/a | Setup fails with a "path not found" error when you try to install the VSTA_DTLP30.msi file. |
| 931703 | n/a | You cannot install SQL Server 2012 SP1 because another Windows Installer action is in progress. |
| 967159 | n/a | The setup process randomly fails with an "access violation" error. |
| 1030137 | n/a | You cannot uninstall SQL Server 2012 SP1 on Windows 8 if you have not installed the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. |
| 959184 | n/a | An unhandled exception occurs in the Microsoft .NET Framework when you install a second instance of SQL Server 2012. |
| 887176 | n/a | A previously failed SQL Server installation prevents SQL Server Service Packs or Cumulative Updates from installing successfully. |
| 880222 | n/a | Adds support for the retry logic in order to bring cluster resources online. |
| 863805 | n/a | A missing IAcceptSqlServerLicenseTerms entry in the Summary log and an incorrect entry in the Settings.xml file indicate that you have rejected the Microsoft Software License Terms. |
| 853528 | n/a | The /QS parameter in a command line does not overwrite /QUITESIMPLE =False in configuration file when you install SQL Server 2012. |
| 972251 | n/a | The IP/subnet option is disabled on the Cluster Network Configuration page, and you cannot move to next step. |
| 748122 | n/a | The setup UI is displayed left-to-right for Hebrew and Arabic languages when you run rsSharePoint.msi. |
| 810794 | n/a | The Cluster Network Configuration page in the ADDNODE wizard does not show a selected instance's IP addresses if you go back and select a new instance of SQL Server. |
| 824972 | n/a | The navigation pane is too wide in SQL Server Installation Center. |
| 964995 | n/a | Adds a rule to warn you if the .NET Framework 3.5 is not installed and if the computer cannot access the Internet. |
| 880779 | n/a | Setup process does not provide a summary that describes the next steps when you cannot update or remove an update. |
| 969810 | n/a | You cannot install SQL Server updates through Windows Server Update Services or Microsoft Update on passive nodes of clustered instances. |
| 880225 | n/a | Adds methods in Service Quality Monitoring (SQM) and in Watson to help you understand why the Setup program cannot install an MSI because of ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND code. |
| 880233 | n/a | Setting validation does not report the correct setting that causes a failure in SQM and in Watson. |
| 897566 | n/a | FIX: SQM is turned off in SQL Server 2012 Service Pack CTPs. |
| 880228 | n/a | FIX: Fix the UserGroup.Exists() reporting method in SQM and Watson. |
| 830970 | n/a | Setup account validation method throws an exception when the Active Directory server is down. |
| 926981 | n/a | "There was a failure to call cluster code from a provider. Exception message: Generic failure. Status code: 997" error message when you upgrade from SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 to SQL Server 2012. |
| 828466 | n/a | "Incorrect SKUs supported" message when you try to install SQL Server in clustered environment. |
| 973499 | n/a | FIX: Persistent state is set to 1 when an IP address is created in SQL Server Multi-Subnet Clustering. |
| 858717 | n/a | You cannot upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2 to SQL Server 2012 on a Windows 8-based cluster. |
| 878531 | n/a | You cannot uninstall SQL Server 2012 that has dependencies on multiple mount points. |
| 861377 | n/a | You cannot use the SQL Server slipstream package to update the current feature to Service Pack 1 when you add a new feature at the same time. |
| 846622 | n/a | The Install wizard freezes when it searches for product updates. |
| 817937 | n/a | FIX: Master Data Services (MDS) feature is visible in the feature tree when you try to uninstall SQL Server 2012 SP1. |
| 954667 | n/a | FIX: When you try to update the SQL Server Client Tools or SQL Server Full-Text Search feature by using a corrupted installer file, the feature does not display the correct error message. |
| 819093 | n/a | Feature selection is unavailable when you install a security update for shared components when the instance component is at a different service pack level. |
| 907647 | n/a | FIX: Updates SQM to report the service pack level as a number. |
| 887062 | n/a | FIX: SQL Server service pack applies English to certain features even though these features are installed by using a localized language. |
| 1018645 | n/a | "Exit code:-2068578302" error message when you try to uninstall an instance of SQL Server 2012. |
| 829208 | n/a | Reporting service is in a bad state after a SQL Server upgrade fails. |
Availability
Service Pack 1 was released on 11/09/2012 in twelve languages. Download files are available in both .iso (DVD-image) format, .box format and .exe format in both the slipstream edition (complete 2012 installation with SP1 included) and SP1 standalone version. SP1 is available for all versions and editions of SQL Server 2012, and also for partial elements such as the client and manageability tools (SSMS, etc.) as package KB2674319 available in the link at the end of this tip, although if you have the database engine installed, the full SP1 product should be installed. It is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit editions. It is also available for the SQL Server 2012 Feature Pack only, and the installation of SP1 should be completed on an individual basis from the SQL Server 2012 SP1 Feature Pack download, link also below.
Issues
As previously stated, depending on your configuration (Microsoft unfortunately is not forthcoming about the exact details), you may wish to install KB2793634 to fix the installer issue. However there are certain other issues which are detailed in the Release Notes (linked below) of which you should be aware before installing SP1:
1) Reinstallation of SQL Server Failover Cluster - This will fail if reinstalling on a node in a failover cluster if using the same IP address. The reason for this is that the Resource Group is not fully deleted on uninstallation, so on reinstallation an error is generated. Workaround: Uninstall the Resource Group, or use a different instance name.
2) PowerPoint Configuration Tool doesn't recreate the PowerPivot Gallery - this issue affects administrators of PowerPivot and occurs because the default behavior is to create a new 'Team Site'. To fix this issue, install a new application, 'PowerPivot Gallery', from the Site Contents page and ensure the PowerPivot Feature Integration for Site Collections feature is active.
3) PowerPivot for Excel 2013 must be installed from Excel, not from SQL Server 2012. In addition, the versions of PowerPivot for Office 2010 as supplied with SQL Server 2008 R2 and 2012 are not compatible with Excel 2013. Workaround - install the COM add-in in Excel. For full instructions, see the Release Notes, item 2.2.
4) SharePoint Server 2013 must be installed prior to SQL Server Reporting Services 2012. This is because installing in the reverse order means misconfiguration of the SharePoint farm. According to the Microsoft article 'Business Intelligence Features and SharePoint 2013 (SQL Server 2012) linked to at the end of this tip. In essence the steps are as follows:
- Install SharePoint Server 2013
- Enable Excel Services
- Install SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) in SharePoint mode
- Grant administrator permissions on SSAS to the SharePoint farm and services accounts
- Configure Excel Services to use the SSAS services
- Install Reporting Services (SSRS) in SharePoint mode
- Install the Reporting Services add-in for SharePoint products
- Configure SSRS, the SharePoint service and at least one SSRS service application
5) PowerView in SharePoint 2013 requires an SSAS .dll file (Microsoft.AnalysisServices.SPClient.dll). Workaround: Install spPowerPivot.msi on the SharePoint server, available as part of the SQL Server 2012 SP1 Feature Pack (linked below).
6) PowerView sheets in a PowerPivot workbook are deleted after a data refresh. Workaround: Create a new PowerPivot workbook that defines the data model only. Keep Excel and other PowerView sheets separate so the data refresh affects only the data model sheet.
7) Data Quality Services (DQS) is mistakenly available in editions other than Enterprise, BI and Developer Editions of SQL Server. After SP1 installation, DQS will no longer be made available in other editions.
8) SSMS - SQL Server Management Studio 2012 full edition has been mistakenly made available in the Express Edition instead of SSMS 2012 Express Edition. This is corrected in SP1.
9) Change Data Capture (CDC) components for Oracle must be upgraded manually to SP1. These can be obtained from the SQL Server 2012 SP1 Feature Pack download page (linked below).
10) Updates to the SQL Server Data-Tier Application Framework (DACFx). In the interests of brevity these changes have not been included here, but can be found in the SQL Server 2012 SP1 Release Notes, item 7.0.
Installation
Simply download and run the correct version (32-bit, 64-bit, or appropriate slipstream edition) from the download page linked below. Then step through the dialog screens to confirm installation and begin the installation process. On a 32-core server with Windows Server 2008 R2, this process took approximately 45 minutes, but your mileage may vary.
Next Steps
- More information on SP1 can be found in the following links:
- List of bugs fixed in SP1: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2674319
- Information for SP1 critical issue: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2793634
- Download hotfix for critical issue: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36215
- SQL Server 2012 SP1 Feature Pack download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=268266
- SQL Server 2012 SP1 KB2674319 (partial): http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=268158
- Business Intelligence Features and SharePoint 2013 (SQL Server 2012): http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj218795(v=sql.15)
- SQL Server 2012 SP1 Release Notes: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=247920
About the author
Derek Colley is a UK-based DBA and BI Developer with more than a decade of experience working with SQL Server, Oracle and MySQL.This author pledges the content of this article is based on professional experience and not AI generated.
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