SBS 2003 Update with SP2 failed: "Failed to install catalog files"

[KEATON!]

When I try to update a Windows SBS 2003 with SP2, I always get the error code 0x8007F01E and the error description: "Failed to install catalog files". All 12 (!) methods to fix the problem described in Microsofts KB 822798 did not help either.

Does anybody have any futher idea how to cope with this problem?

[HELLIAN]

Does this error only occur when attempting to install SP2 to SBS2003 using WSUS, or does it occur /anytime/ you attempt to install SP2 to an SBS2003 server?

If the former, please post the installation event logs from the SBS2003 server.

If the latter, then it's most likely an SBS2003 "SP2 Installation" issue, and you'd do better to discuss it in the SBS forum.

[MarcusIP]

Same situation... Same Error.

I've tried with Microsoft Update and Windows Update, as well as with the NET Distributable Executable.

Anyone have any ideas?

---

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Windows Update Agent
Event Category: Installation
Event ID: 20
Date: 3/20/2007
Time: 4:55:43 PM
User: N/A
Computer: ZEUS
Description:
Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x8007f01e: Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (32-bit x86).

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 57 69 6e 33 32 48 52 65 Win32HRe
0008: 73 75 6c 74 3d 30 78 38 sult=0x8
0010: 30 30 37 66 30 31 65 20 007f01e
0018: 55 70 64 61 74 65 49 44 UpdateID
0020: 3d 7b 39 34 35 32 35 30 ={945250
0028: 33 43 2d 30 35 42 45 2d 3C-05BE-
0030: 34 41 36 34 2d 39 39 45 4A64-99E
0038: 44 2d 39 41 35 39 46 37 D-9A59F7
0040: 44 36 35 33 39 38 7d 20 D65398}
0048: 52 65 76 69 73 69 6f 6e Revision
0050: 4e 75 6d 62 65 72 3d 31 Number=1
0058: 30 34 20 00 04 .

[KOVID]

Same here. When I tried to install it through Windows Update website.

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Windows Update Agent
Event Category: Installation
Event ID: 20
Date: 4/13/2007
Time: 4:16:32 PM
User: N/A
Computer: XXX
Description:
Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update
with error 0x8007f01e: Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (32-bit
x86).

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 57 69 6e 33 32 48 52 65 Win32HRe
0008: 73 75 6c 74 3d 30 78 38 sult=0x8
0010: 30 30 37 66 30 31 65 20 007f01e
0018: 55 70 64 61 74 65 49 44 UpdateID
0020: 3d 7b 39 34 35 32 35 30 ={945250
0028: 33 43 2d 30 35 42 45 2d 3C-05BE-
0030: 34 41 36 34 2d 39 39 45 4A64-99E
0038: 44 2d 39 41 35 39 46 37 D-9A59F7
0040: 44 36 35 33 39 38 7d 20 D65398}
0048: 52 65 76 69 73 69 6f 6e Revision
0050: 4e 75 6d 62 65 72 3d 31 Number=1
0058: 30 38 20 00 08 .

Any one knows the solution, please help.

Thanks

[cogentsol]

I had the same exact problem and opened a ticket with Microsoft. According to their Knowledge Base, this issue is likely caused by corrupted catalog files. The following two procedures were provided to me by MS Tech support and solved my problem. I made some edits to clarify which are designated by [Note:....]

PROCEDURE 1:

1. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Please run the following command in the opened window.

Net stop Cryptsvc

2. Manually rename Edb.log to Edb.txt under C:\Windows\system32\catroot2.

3. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Please run the following command to start service in the opened window.

Net start Cryptsvc

4. Reboot the server. [Note: I added this step. In my original attempt, I did not reboot prior to applying the service pack and it failed with an error message ("Setup could not verify the integrity of the file Update.inf. Make sure the Cryptographic service is running on this computer"). So I tried the second proceedure also without rebooting and got the same error message. It was at that point I decided to reboot and attempt the SP2 install immediately after coming up and the installation went fine. Please note that I had dowloaded the full SP2 install and was not using Windows Update.]

5. After the above steps, please try to install Service Pack 2 again.

If the issue persists, try moving all the catalog files using the following procedure.

PROCEDURE 2:

1. Locate C:\WINDOWS\system32\CatRoot Folder

2. Right Click on the folder and select Search.

3. Expand the More Advanced Options and verify that the Type of file says "(All Files and Folders)" and that the advanced search options for system folders, hidden files and folder and search subfolders are checked.

4. Under the "All or part of the name" box, enter "tmp*.cat, KB*.cat." (without the quotes)

5. Move all the files to another folder. [Note: I created a cleanup folder on my desktop prior to doing the search].

6. Reboot the system [Note: Again, this is an added step. See my note in Step 4 of procedure 1]

7. After moving the catalog files, attempt to install the Service Pack again.

At this point, the technician requested that I collect additional data for them to research if the SP2 install failed again. Fortunately, one of these two procedures and the reboot fixed my problem. Good luck and I hope this is helpful to some of you