I’m in the process of testing upgrades to SQL Server 2012. In the process, I’m trying different paths. The current one I’m in the middle of is a clustered instance which will go from SQL Server 2005 SP4 –> SQL Server 2008 SP1 –> SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 CU3 –> SQL Server 2012. The SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 installations were slipstreamed.

However, when I went to go upgrade to SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 CU3 using my slipstreamed media, the upgrade kept failing. When I went to go look at the log files, one log file (SqlBrowser_Cpu32_1) had the culprit:

=== Verbose logging started: 2/13/2012  22:33:26  Build type: SHIP UNICODE 5.00.7601.00  Calling process: C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server100Setup BootstrapSQLServer2008R2x64setup100.exe ===
MSI (c) (A8:4C) [22:33:26:965]: Resetting cached policy values
MSI (c) (A8:4C) [22:33:26:965]: Machine policy value ‘Debug’ is 0
MSI (c) (A8:4C) [22:33:26:965]: ******* RunEngine:
******* Product: C:Slipstream 2K8 R2 SP1 CU31033_ENU_LPx64setupsqlbrowser.msi
…
MSI (s) (34:F0) [22:33:27:012]: MainEngineThread is returning 1639
Info 1639. Invalid command line argument. Consult the Windows Installer SDK for detailed command line help.
;”C:SLIPSTREAM
…

It looks like the code, for whatever reason, barfed with the spaces only at this point but was OK with it earlier. I renamed the directory to get rid of the spaces and it worked. I entered a bug on Connect here, so go and vote for it.