SQL Server 2014 CTP 1 – Installation failure

Recently I was trying to install SQL Server 2014 CTP 1 on my Windows Server 2008 R2 Virtual Machine to explore SQL Server 2014.

What I encountered was a failure of a rule “Previous SQL Product installation”

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Rule Check Result

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Rule “Previous SQL product installation” failed.

A SQL product other than SQL Server 2014 CTP1 is detected. You cannot install this release until the existing instances of SQL products are uninstalled.

Cause

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 CTP1 is does not support upgrade from or side-by-side installations with any previous version of SQL Server, including SQL Server 2012.

I found that SQL Express was installed on the machine by a Third Party Software. So if you want to install SQL Server 2014 CTP 1, you need to either uninstall previous SQL versions, or alternatively, you can install it on fresh machine.