/sqlbootstraplog-review

name: sqlbootstraplog-review
description: Analyze SQL Server Setup Bootstrap log files to diagnose failed installations, failed Cumulative Update or Service Pack patching, failed cluster node operations, and risky setup-time configuration. Parses Summary.txt, Detail.txt, MSI/MSP logs, ConfigurationFile.ini, and SystemConfigurationCheck_Report content from the Setup Bootstrap Log folder. Applies 24 checks (U1–U24) covering final-result failure and exit-code extraction, failed setup rules (pending reboot, disk space, account permissions, prerequisites, cluster rules), Detail.txt exception forensics, MSI "Return value 3" patterns, and ConfigurationFile.ini review (service accounts, instant file initialization, TempDB layout, mixed authentication, feature sprawl, directory placement). Use this skill whenever SQL Server setup, an in-place upgrade, a patch, or add/remove node fails, or when a user pastes Summary.txt, Detail.txt, or ConfigurationFile.ini content.
triggers:
  - /sqlbootstraplog-review
  - /bootstrap-log
  - /setup-log

SQL Server Setup Bootstrap Log Review Skill

Purpose

Analyze SQL Server Setup Bootstrap log artifacts to find why an installation, upgrade, patch (CU/SP), repair, or cluster node operation failed — and to flag risky setup-time configuration before it becomes production drift. Applies 24 checks (U1–U24) across four categories:

• **U1–U6** — Summary and outcome: final result failure, exit-code extraction, failed

rules, partial feature failure, patch/upgrade per-instance failures, component update phase failures

• **U7–U13** — Rule-failure patterns: pending reboot, disk space, account/permission,

prerequisites, cluster rules, policy blockers, Global Rules phase

• **U14–U18** — Detail.txt and MSI forensics: end-of-file exceptions, MSI "Return value 3",

setup crashes, failure-chain root-cause ordering, Datastore state files

• **U19–U24** — ConfigurationFile.ini review: service accounts, instant file

initialization, TempDB layout, security surface, feature sprawl, directory placement

Setup runs three phases — (1) Global Rules verification, (2) Component update, (3) the user-requested action — and writes a dated log folder per run. This skill is the installation-layer counterpart to `sqlerrorlog-review` (runtime) and `sqldbconfig-review` (post-install drift).

Input

Accept any of:

• **Summary.txt** or `Summary_<MachineName>_<yyyyMMdd_HHmmss>.txt` — overall result, machine

properties, discovered features, user input settings, detailed per-feature results, rules with failures or warnings

• **Detail.txt** — time-ordered action execution log; errors and exceptions appear at the

end of the file

• **MSI / MSP log files** (`<Feature>_<Architecture>_<Interaction>.log`) — msiexec package logs
• **ConfigurationFile.ini** — the input settings recorded for the run (reusable for

unattended installs; passwords and PID are not saved into it)

• **SystemConfigurationCheck_Report.htm** content (pasted as text) — rule names, short

descriptions, and execution status

• **`%temp%\sqlsetup*.log`** — logs from unattended-mode runs
• A natural-language description ("setup failed with 0x851A001A installing the engine")

Where the files live

%programfiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\<nnn>\Setup Bootstrap\Log\            <- Summary.txt
%programfiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\<nnn>\Setup Bootstrap\Log\<yyyyMMdd_HHmmss>\
    Summary_<MachineName>_<yyyyMMdd_HHmmss>.txt
    Detail.txt
    ConfigurationFile.ini
    SystemConfigurationCheck_Report.htm
    <Name>.log                  <- MSI/MSP logs
    Datastore\                  <- XML state snapshots per execution phase
    MSSQLSERVER\ ...            <- per-instance subfolders when patching

`<nnn>` matches the version being installed: 130 = SQL 2016, 140 = SQL 2017, 150 = SQL 2019, 160 = SQL 2022. All files in a log folder are archived into `Log*.cab`. Unattended-mode logs land in `%temp%\sqlsetup*.log`.

Pre-flight helper script

Before installing or patching, run [`scripts/check-pending-reboot.ps1`](scripts/check-pending-reboot.ps1) to detect the pending-reboot conditions that fail Setup's "Restart computer" rule (U7) — Component Based Servicing, Windows Update, PendingFileRenameOperations, pending computer rename, and the ConfigMgr client signal. Exit code 0 = clear, 1 = reboot pending. See [`scripts/README.md`](scripts/README.md) for usage.

How to Run

1. **Identify the artifact type(s)** in the input: Summary, Detail, MSI log, INI, rules report, or a mix. 2. **Parse the Summary first** when present — `Final result:`, `Exit code (Decimal):`, `Requested action:`, `Detailed results:` (per-feature `Status:` / `Component error code:` / `Error description:`), and `Rules with failures or warnings:`. 3. **Run U1–U13** against the Summary/rules content. 4. **Run U14–U18** against Detail.txt and MSI logs when provided — search Detail.txt from the end for "error" / "exception"; search MSI logs for "value 3". 5. **Run U19–U24** against ConfigurationFile.ini or the `User Input Settings:` section of the Summary (the same parameters appear in both). 6. **Order findings by causality** — the first failing action or rule is the root cause; later failures are usually cascade (U17). 7. If a check cannot be evaluated because its artifact is absent, report "Cannot evaluate — <artifact> not provided" rather than skipping silently.

---

Summary and Outcome Checks (U1–U6)

U1 — Setup Final Result Failed

• **Trigger:** Summary contains `Final result:` with `Failed`, `Cancelled`, or

`Setup completed with required actions` (anything other than `Passed`)

• **Severity:** Critical
• **Fix:** Extract `Exit code (Decimal):`, `Requested action:`, and every feature in

`Detailed results:` whose `Status:` is not `Passed`. Report the `Error description:` and `Component error code:` for each failed feature, then continue with U2–U18 to find the root cause. The `Next step for <feature>:` lines sta