Core Issue
This is a known issue related to Microsoft SQL Desktop Edition (MSDE) upgrades.
Resolution
If the Instance name is invalid error message appears during the installation of the MSDE Service Pack 3 (SP3), perform this procedure:
- Browse to the folder where the MSDE service pack files were extracted.
- Browse to the MSDE directory.
- Right-click the setup.exe file and choose Create Shortcut.
- Right-click the shortcut to setup.exe and choose Properties.
- In the Target field, add /upgradesp sqlrun blanksapwd=1 after setup.exe.
For example, if the files were extracted to c:\temp, the string is c:\temp\sql2ksp3\MSDE\setup.exe /upgradesp sqlrun blanksapwd=1.
- Click OK.
- Double-click the shortcut to setup.exe to run the upgrade.
For more information, refer to the Instance name is invalid Error (MSDE Only) section of Cisco Unity 3.x and 4.0 Are Vulnerable to W32.Slammer Worm.
There is also a manual uninstallation process for SQL documented in the following Microsoft article (in case part of the uninstallation has failed in some way): How to manually remove SQL Server 2000 default, named, or virtual instance