Troubleshooting
Problem
This technote explains why attempts to update an IBM Rational ClearCase or ClearQuest release area with an iFix, patch or fix pack results in the error, The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service…, and provides instructions to resolve the problem.
Symptom
Attempts to patch a ClearCase or ClearQuest release area on a Microsoft® Windows® platform with a fix pack, iFix or Service Release results in the following error:
The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade patch may update a different version of the program. Verify that the program to be upgraded exists on your computer and that you have the correct upgrade patch.
Note: The program, version, and upgrade patch may appear to be correct.
Cause
- The patch install command being used to apply the update to a release area is incorrect.
For example, the following command specifies an incorrect .msi file:
C:\>msiexec /p <patch-dir>\patch.mcksr1.637.msp /a <release_area>\Setup
\isscript.msi /lv* <patch-dir>\install.logIn this example, the file <release_area>\Setup\isscript.msi is incorrect. - This error also occurs while attempting to apply a 7.0.0.1 iFix to a release area that has been created for 7.0.
- A fix pack is being installed before the prerequisite interim fixes (ifixes).
Resolving The Problem
Solution 1
Ensure that you are specifying the correct MSI file when attempting to patch the release area.
From the above ClearCase example, the correct command is:
C:\>msiexec /p <patch-dir>\patch.mcksr1.637.msp /a <release-area>\Setup
\clearcase.msi /lv* <patch-dir>\install.log
Solution 2
Upgrade the 7.0 release area to 7.0.0.1 (Fix Pack 1) prior to applying a 7.0.0.1 update.
Solution 3
Install the prerequisite interim fixes before installing the fix pack.
Refer to technote 1242322 Applying a Rational iFix or Fix Pack on Windows for the proper procedure.
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Summary: While installing the Cumulative Updates on Exchange Server, you may encounter an error “The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service.” In this post, we’ve discussed the ways to fix this error. We’ve also mentioned an Exchange recovery software that helps recover mailboxes and public folders in case any problem occurs.
Updates are crucial for the upkeep of the Exchange Server. These updates bring new features, enhance security, and fix issues and back doors that are identified by the community and application developers. Microsoft releases these updates for Exchange Server in the form of Cumulative Updates.
When updating your Exchange Server to the latest Cumulative Updates (CU), you would require to have the Exchange Server to be at a certain update level. It is always important to carefully read the requirements and consult the supplier when installing these updates.
Sometimes, during the installation of a Cumulative Update on Exchange Server, you may encounter the error, “The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service.”
The complete error message states, “The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade patch may update a different version of the program. Verify that the program to be upgraded exists on your computer and that you have the correct upgrade patch.”
Steps to Fix the Issue
- Read the Requirements of Patch
It is important to read the requirements of the patch. If you install a Cumulative Update without consulting the requirements or the update is interrupted during the process, this can be very dangerous for the Exchange Server operation and also for the health and consistency of the data. You wouldn’t want to end up with the flooding of errors in your Event Viewer, services not starting, people unable to send or receive emails, and a potential corruption of data.
- Check with the Compatibility Matrix and Check AD Schema
You need to check the server Cumulative Update level with the compatibility matrix on Microsoft’s site and also ensure that the Active Directory schema is also upgraded. Exchange Server relies heavily on the Active Directory service. In such updates, the schema would need to be upgraded and modified beforehand (see the below example).
Setup.exe /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataOff /PrepareSchema
- DAG Requirements
If you are installing on a Database Availability Group (DAG), you must ensure that all the services and clients have been failed over to the other server/s. You must also ensure to put the server in maintenance mode. This is also applicable to standalone servers. This can be done by first draining the hub transport service.
Set-ServerComponentState -Identity <server name> -Component HubTransport -State Draining -Requester Maintenance
This will put the server in maintenance mode. You can verify this by running the below command.
Get-ServerComponentState <server name> | Select Component, State
This will ensure that the service is solely available to the update and no user will be able to use it until the patches are installed.
To Conclude
You must always have a contingency plan in place as there could always be a possibility of an issue with the update, human error, or hardware issue during the installation. This will ensure the recovery of service if any issue occurs.
Installing patches on Exchange Server and any other service can always have a catastrophic outcome. It is important to always have a maintenance window with all the contingency plans in hand. The most important one is to have a backup when installing such updates, which could be critical to your Exchange Server’s health. In case an issue occurred during a patch cycle, your Exchange Server won’t be able to start the services or even boot. It may also cause damage to your Exchange Server transaction logs or databases, which could have a grave impact on the business.
In such cases, you can use applications to restore from the damaged databases. One such application is Stellar Repair for Exchange. This application can open multiple Exchange Server databases of any size and of any level – from Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2019. If the database is in a corrupted state, this application can open it.
By using this application, you can browse through all the mailboxes and public folders. You can granularly export to PST and other file formats. You can also export the recovered database directly to a live Exchange Server database of any version of Office 365. The application has features such as parallel recovery, continuation in case the export or migration is interrupted, user matching, and priority export. With Stellar Repair for Exchange, you can export recovered mailboxes as well as public folders with ease and assurance.
About The Author
Ravi Singh
Ravi Singh is a Senior Writer at Stellar®. He is an expert Tech Explainer, IoT enthusiast, and a passionate nerd with over 7 years of experience in technical writing. He writes about Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, Email Migration, Linux, Windows, Mac, DIY Tech, and Smart Home. Ravi spends most of his weekends working with IoT (DIY Smart Home) devices and playing Overwatch. He is also a solo traveler who loves hiking and exploring new trails.
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Question
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Hi
I am trying to use the ms OCT to upgrade workstations from office 2003 to office 2010. when I create a new .msp package and try to run it, I gives me the windows Installer error «The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service
because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade patch may update a different version of the program. Verify that the program to be upgraded exissts on your computer and that you have the correct upgrae patch.»any ideas?
thanks!
Answers
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ok,
so you are running just «setup.exe» without any other parameters or arguments?
by default, setup.exe will search for an OCT-generated msp file in the \Updates folder, and apply it.
the guidance is to name the customisation msp file with a numeric (e.g. 1mycustom.msp)
the customisation is applied at the end of the setup phase, the setup logfile will reveal this.
are you running office setup.exe from a script or batch of some kind?
or from a software deployment system/tool?
what is the command-line you are running?
how are you launching this command-line? (GPO startup script?)(manually by clicking on a link?)
Don
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Marked as answer by
Monday, March 5, 2012 8:48 PM
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Marked as answer by
I created an upgrade patch (and recreated a few times), and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of options to select. However, no matter what I do, I get a message from the Windows Installer:
The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade patch may update a different version of the program. Verify that the program upgraded exists on your computer and that you have the correct upgrade patch.
I’ve tried the patch as an MSP and EXE and neither work. I get a warning that the original disk was created using 8.0 vs 8.0.2 but there is nothing I can do about that as that is what shipped to the users on CD. Is that the problem? Is there any way to capture or log the reason that the patch fails the checks? There are so few options, that I must be missing something simple
I’m using Advanced Installer Enterprise, 8.0.2.
Sandy
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Question
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Hi
Is the 20-DEC-2006 SP1 Update for VS2005 the most recent version? I tried to patch the Team Edition for Software Developers running on the 6000 build of Vista x64 and i get the following error
The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade patch may update a different version …
Am I using the wrong patch (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=FB6BB56A-10B7-4C05-B81C-5863284503CF&displaylang=en) — is there an x64 version?
Dave
Answers
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As mentioned in the Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 Update for Windows Vista release notes it is supported on both the x86 as the x64 editions of Windows Vista RTM. Imho what is going on here is that it cannot find the correct product code in the registry for either Visual Studio 2005 or one of the components affected by the patch.
My guess is that you forgot to install the SP1 for Visual Studio first?
- Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005 Team Suite Service Pack 1