Error Message: This Upgrade Product Can Only Upgrade an Existing Small Business Server Installation

ID: Q237822

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server versions 4.0, 4.0a, 4.5

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you try to upgrade Small Business Server (SBS) 4.0 or 4.0a to SBS 4.5 using the free Value Upgrade (VUP), you may receive the following error message:

This Upgrade product can only upgrade an existing Small Business Server installation.

CAUSE

This issue can occur when the upgrade process checks the server registry to verify the existing installation is SBS version 4.0, not the standard Microsoft Windows NT Server or BackOffice. If the BackOffice keys do exist or the SBS keys have been removed, then the upgrade process generates the error message listed earlier in this article.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To resolve this issue if the server is running SBS version 4.0 or 4.0a, use Registry Editor to verify that the following registry key does not exist, and if it does, back it up and then delete it:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\BackOffice

MORE INFORMATION

If SBS has been upgraded to BackOffice 4.0, then the Value Upgrade cannot be applied. The server must be upgraded to BackOffice Server 4.5 instead of SBS 4.5.

REFERENCES

Q216068 BackOffice Small Business Server 4.5 Version Upgrade Fulfillment

Additional query words: smallbiz

Keywords : kbenv kberrmsg kbsetup
Version : winnt:4.0,4.0a,4.5
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb