SQL server express not installing

Andi King 20 Reputation points
2025-08-06T12:57:45.6+00:00

Hi,

I have tried to install this multiple times however this error keeps showing up. I have uninstalled it and then tried to reinstall and it hasn't worked.

Is there anything else I can try?User's image

SQL Server Database Engine
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  1. Erland Sommarskog 124.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-08-06T19:49:29.46+00:00

    The message Wait on the Database Engine recovery handle failed is a generic error that means that SQL Server did not start when Setup wanted to run configuration steps. To understand why it did not start, you need to look in the SQL Server errorlog, which you find in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL16.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\LOG\ERRORLOG. Note that the component MSSQL16.MSSQLSERVER is for a default instance. If you are trying to install a named instance, this component will have a different name.

    If you see a message about 256 misaligned reads, you are running into a known issue where Windows 11 for some disk drives reports a sector size that SQL Server does not cope with. Microsoft has published an article with workarounds for the problem.

    If you don't see the message about misaligned reads, feel free to upload the errorlog here, so we can look at it. You will need to rename to ERRORLOG.txt for the forum software to accept it.

    1 person found this answer helpful.

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