SQL Hell

Today I needed to install MS SQL Server on a PC.
My usual experience with installing a database engine is MySQL on Ubuntu where you open a terminal and type:

"sudo apt-get install mysql-server"

That's it job done. 10 minutes later and you have a working DB on your server. If there are dependencies or things it needs to change it works it out for you and sorts it.

Here is the process for MS SQL Server 2008 on my XP PC

• 9:20AM Decide to install MS SQL Server
• Search google, go to the SQL Express 2008 site
• Run somekind of Java downloader which crashes firefox
• Installer application reuiqres a hot fix and will not run
• Manually download and run hotfix
• Reboots computer without asking work lost
• Run graphical installer agree to EULA
• Will not install because power shell is not installed (No information provided as to what this is or how to get it)
• Back to google
• Can't install powershell because it can't validate Windows is genuine
• Download validator tool
• Run tool manually copy validation code into website
• Download and install powershell agree to EULA
• Installer won't run because the machine has Visual studio 2008 but this is not patched to SP1
• Visual studio will not update because I am not using Internet explorer
• Back to google
• Download visual studio 2008 SP1
• Run graphical installer
• Agree to licence terms
• Visual studio 2008 Installer takes half an hour to run
• Go through pages of incomprehensible set up dialogues
• SQL Server 2008 installer takes half an hour to run
• 12:07 Installer completed

And people say administering Linux is hard......