Installing Exchange 2007 SP1: Notes from the field

NOTE: These upgrade notes are for Exchange SP1 Beta 2. Many readers have found this useful in their RTM upgrades. Also please see my latest post that discusses the installation of SP1 RTM. - Jeff

The following are my notes for installing Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Beta 2. As with most beta software, upgrades may not go as smoothly as they will in the final product. I came across some problems and solutions, which I'll share with you and will hopefully make your upgrade smoother.

I'm not going into a lot of detail on each of these steps, so if you want more info please post your question and I'll do my best to answer.

My setup is a single x64 dual-core host with 4GB RAM. It functions as my Microsoft Exchange 2007 Edge server and runs VMware Workstation 6.01. It runs two VMs, one Windows Server 2003 SP2 x64 Domain Controller and one Exchange 2007 x64 Hub Transport, CAS, Mailbox server running E2K7 Update 4. The Edge server is running Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange RTM.

The Exchange 2007 SP1 release notes say to update your Edge, Hub Transport and CAS servers before your mailbox servers. It also says that Forefront Security for Exchange RTM is incompatible with Exchange 2007 SP1. You have to use Microsoft Forefront Security
for Exchange Server with Service Pack 1 Beta 2 (FSES SP1 Beta 2). You can download it here.

Note: I was told by Microsoft, "Exchange SP1 Beta 2 requires FSES SP1 Beta 2 (installed before you install the Exchange Service Pack 1 Beta 2)."

So, without further ado, here are my upgrade notes:



BEFORE BEGINNING

• Took snapshots of DC and EX01 VMs


• Make a backup of host/Edge server

EDGE SERVER

• Install ForeFront SP1 Beta 2


• Follow http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=929080 to disable ForeFront before installing Exchange 2007 SP1


• Restart and stop all Exchange services, except ADAM


• Install. Be patient. Configuring common transport polices took 10 minutes by itself.


• Install completed successfully


• Re-enabled Forefront as per KB929080, above


• Restarted the server, checked event logs, tested email inbound/outbound successfully

HUB TRANSPORT/CAS/MAILBOX SERVER

• Begin installation


• Installation failed about halfway through


• Tried to run again, but got the error, "This installation is forbidden by system policy." Solved using the Local Security Settings tip from Tim Chad at the bottom of this page


• Restarted installation, but got the error, "The Exchange files are not installed, but the backup settings registry key is present. Only build to build upgrade mode is available."


• Ran Setup.com /mode:upgrade from the command line to perform an unattended upgrade setup


• Got the following output:

Welcome to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unattended Setup

Preparing Exchange Setup

The following server roles will be upgraded
Hub Transport Role
Client Access Role
Mailbox Role

Performing Microsoft Exchange Server Prerequisite Check

Hub Transport Role Checks ......................... FAILED
Setup cannot continue with upgrade because 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\bin\ExchHelp.chm' is open. Close the file and restart setup.

Client Access Role Checks ......................... FAILED
Unable to read data from the Metabase. Ensure that Microsoft Internet Information Services is installed.

The World Wide Web (W3SVC) service is either disabled or not installed on this computer. You must exit Setup, install the required component, then restart the Setup process.

Setup cannot continue with upgrade because 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\bin\ExchHelp.chm' is open. Close the file and restart setup.

Mailbox Role Checks ......................... FAILED
Unable to read data from the Metabase. Ensure that Microsoft Internet Information Services is installed.

The World Wide Web (W3SVC) service is either disabled or not installed on this computer. You must exit Setup, install the required component, then restart the Setup process.

Setup cannot continue with upgrade because 'C:\Program
Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\bin\ExchHelp.chm' is open. Close the file and restart setup.

The Exchange Server setup operation did not complete.
Visit http://support.microsoft.com and enter the Error ID to find more
information.

Exchange Server setup encountered an error.

• Set the World Wide Web Publishing Service, IIS Admin Service, and HTTP SSL service to automatic and started (they were disabled)


• Copy file ExchHelp.chm from \setup\serverroles\common of the setup media into the \Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Bin directory


• Re-run Setup.com /mode:upgrade


• Success! Restart all servers. Test OWA and Outlook inbound/outbound successfully

Good luck with your own upgrade. Now to test the new SP1 features!