Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express on Windows Server 2008 R2

I was configuring a new virtual image today for some upcoming client work, and since my new laptop is now x64, by base image for all future virtual images is Windows Server 2008 R2 (with SQL Server 2008 Development edition installed already). Since R2 is quite new still, I figured I would at least hit one roadblock, and sure enough I did.

I had installed WSS 3.0 with SP2, without any issues (a command line based install, which instructions for can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc752946.aspx), and fired up the installation for Search Server Express 2008, when I hit this gem:

The error itself is a little confusing, especially since I was running the x64 install, and the message indicates an x86 binary… anyways… It turns out that Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP2 needs to be slipstreamed into the Search Server 2008 Express install to do so. I will post the instructions below, but, to give credit where credit is due, thanks to Andy Kemp’s blog post here for the instructions – it saved whatever precious hair I have left on my head for other, more important things.

First, open up a command prompt, and extract Search Server Express to it’s own folder, which can be run by the following command

SearchServerExpress.exe /extract:drive:\path\folder

Then download the MOSS 2007 SP2 (x64) executable from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b7816d90-5fc6-4347-89b0-a80deb27a082&displaylang=en

And extract it to the Updates subfolder of the folder that you had extracted Search Server Express to, by running the following command

officeserver2007sp2-kb953334-x64-fullfile-en-us.exe /extract:drive:\path\folder\Updates

Then just run the Setup.exe executable from within the Search Server Express 2008 folder, and you’re good to go.