SQL Server 2005 Installation hell

I got an "Unexpected Error message" for the Installation. And when I tried to do it again, the problem persist.

So tried another approach by installing components one at a time. But it still failed. So I reboot the machine. But still not working.

So I am uninstall the following items now.
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (left over by the failed installation)
- .....
(shoot, I forgot to write them down... but trust me... everything with the name "SQL Server" on it.)

Still doesn't work.

So I did Windows Update. Darn, a bunch of Windows update to do. And then I got a blue screen of death during the Windows update. What in the world.

And then I find out that the whole mess could be caused by not having all the files in place. So here's what I did:

• Go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\ directory and remove all the "MSSQL.x" directories.
• Uninstall all the "SQL Server" entries in "Add or Remove Program" list.
• Following the instruction here in Microsoft site to manually remove all the SQL Server components. (Pay special attention to the "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\ARPWrapper.exe /Remove" section)
  
• Expand en_sql_2005_dev_x86_cd1.iso and en_sql_2005_dev_x86_cd2.iso into a folder. Run the .exe and install.

After tried and tried, it finally worked. I have SQL Server 2500 installed, and now installing service pack. But should I know that expanding both Disc 1 and Disc 2 image fiel into one place is such an import issue, I would have saved a lot of time by doing that in advance.

At least the nightmare is over now.