FineBuild Generic Troubleshooting

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The FineBuild scripts are designed to simplify troubleshooting, and can be restarted in the event of a failure.

If FineBuild fails, the following generic troubleshooting process should find the cause of the error:

• Data Collection
• Problem Analysis
• Re-Run Preparation
• SQL FineBuild Restart

Data Collection

1. The line number of the statement in error will be given in the console log.

   Always make a note of this line number before proceeding further with any troubleshooting. Because of the way that VBScript error handling is performed, it is not possible to capture the line number within a FineBuild script.

2. Process Id active at time of failure.

   This should be shown in the console log, the FineBuild Log file, and the Configuration Report.

3. Wherever possible, a log of install activity is captured into one of two locations:

   File	Location
   FineBuild logs	DrvProg:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\FineBuildLogs
   	All FineBuild activities are captured in the FineBuildInstall* text file. Where possible, the log file of a component install is also captured in this folder.
   SQL Install logs	DrvSys:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server_version_\Setup Bootstrap\Logs
   	All SQL Server install activities are captured in this folder. Every time Setup is run, a subfolder is created to hold the log files of that process

Problem Analysis

1. Locate the line number within the script that has failed.

   If the failure has not occurred in a utility subroutine then the line number should indentify the process that has caused the failure.

2. Check that the Process Id label relates to the subroutine where the error is found.

   If it does not, then locate the Process Id label within the script and then work forward to identify the calling sequence that ended with the statement in error. If a subroutine is called multiple times it may be necessary to add additional messages to the script to identify exactly what caused the failure.

3. Failure caused by something outside of the FineBuild script (e.g. a missing file)

   Correct the problem and prepare to re-run FineBuild.

4. Failure caused by something within the FineBuild script (e.g. a syntax error)

   If possible correct the problem and report the issue on the FineBuild site

Re-Run Preparation

Once the cause of the failure has been corrected then FineBuild can normally be restarted at the point of failure.

If the section of FineBuild processing has moved or deleted files before the failure occurred, then FineBuild will fail again when it finds that the expected file is no longer there. In this situation, the remaining steps in the section that failed must be performed manually, and FineBuild restarted so that it skips the section that has failed.

As an example, if FineBuild fails during Restart SQL Server processing at Process Id 5DC, some of the database files will have been deleted and so a simple /restart:yes will just result in another failure. In this situation, the remaining database files must be deleted manually. The reference to Copy System Database Files in the FineBuild Reference manual will show how to perform this processing. When this has been done, restart FineBuild so that it skips the 5DC processing.

SQL FineBuild Restart

SQL FineBuild will automatically restart at the point of failure. All parameters previously given to SQL FineBuild will be retained when it restarts.

SQL FineBuild can also be explicitly restarted by using the /Restart: parameter. Examples of this are given below:

Parameter	Action
/Restart:yes	Restart SQL FineBuild at point of failure. (/Restart:Yes is the default action within SQL FinwBuild)
/Restart:no	Rerun SQL FineBuild from the beginning. Do not do any restart activity
/Restart:5DD	Restart SQL FineBuild at Process Id 5DD

If a Process Id is specified with the /Restart: parameter and that Process Id does not exist within SQL FineBuild, the next highest valid Process Id will be used for the restart.

Copyright FineBuild Team © 2012 - 2018. License and Acknowledgements

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