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Installing vCenter Server does not complete with Windows Server 2008

Details

Installation of vCenter Server 4.x on Windows Server 2008 fails when Windows Server 2008 is not enabled with Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Role (AD LDS).
You see error messages similar to:

Setup cannot create vCenter Server Directory Services instance. Refer to C:\\Users\SYS-VC~1\...\jointool-0.log for more details. Click Yes to force this operation.
When you click Yes, a message similar to this may be displayed:

Error 28038. Setup cannot create vCenter Server Directory Services instance. Refer to C:\\Users\SYS-VC~1\AppData\Local\Temp\...\jointool-0.log for more details.
In the jointool-0.log log file, you see error messages similar to:

[2010-07-28 12:01:48 INFO] JoinTool started
[2010-07-28 12:01:48 INFO] Storage directory for LDAP instance: C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\VMwareVCMSDS
[2010-07-28 12:01:48 INFO] Operation Mode: initialize
[2010-07-28 12:01:48 INFO] Creating directory services instance VMwareVCMSDS
[2010-07-28 12:01:48 INFO] LDAP port = 389
[2010-07-28 12:01:48 INFO] Base DN = dc=virtualcenter,dc=vmware,dc=int
[2010-07-28 12:01:48 INFO] Storage dir = C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\VMwareVCMSDS
[2010-07-28 12:01:49 SEVERE] Operation "Create standalone instance VMwareVCMSDS" failed: : Action: Create Standalone Instance
Action: Creation of standalone instance
Action: Create Instance
Problem: Creation of instance VMwareVCMSDS failed: The wizard could not access the registry.
Error code: 0x800706fd
The trust relationship between this workstation and the primary domain failed.

Solution

Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) server role on Windows Server 2008 must either be enabled or completely removed before installing vCenter Server.

Note: This issue may also occur on 64bit Windows 2003 Servers. In this case, you must remove the Active Directory Application Mode software.

If AD LDS is installed, but not enabled, it causes the installation to fail because it seeks to use this service and cannot do so.

If the service is completely removed, vCenter does not attempt to use the service, and continues with the installation. For more information on Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/2008/dd448612.aspx.

This issue may also be caused by a Windows 2000 Domain Controller. For more information, see Installing vCenter Server 4.1 on a Windows 2008 R2 system fails (1025668).

In addition, ensure that you have adequated disk space when installing vCenter Server on the system, and making sure not to use any special characters in your password that is connected to the vCenter Server SQL database, as these conditions may cause this error as well.

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