Scripts covering a SQL Server instance’s whole install-to-patch lifecycle: confirm a machine is ready, install unattended, apply sensible defaults, validate the result, keep it patched, and remove it cleanly when it’s done, for both the SQL Server engine and SSMS. Six posts below, each grouping the scripts that belong together.
Why This Matters
- Every script in the set is logged, and most preview safely before doing anything.
-WhatIfworks without elevation on all of them exceptinstall-sql.ps1anduninstall-sql.ps1, a real, documented inconsistency, not an oversight glossed over. - Checks bookend the risky operations. Pre-install and post-install validation exist specifically so an install or a patch isn’t the first time you learn something was misconfigured.
Start Here
The Posts
✅ Pre/Post-Install Checks
Is this machine ready to install on, and is the result actually configured correctly.
💻 Install & Configure
Unattended install with validated parameters, then recommended sp_configure settings applied on top.
🗑️ Uninstall SQL Server
Clean removal with explicit confirmation, plus a readable install/patch history report.
🧩 Install/Update SSMS
Silent install or update, handles the SSMS 20-to-22 framework boundary automatically.
❌ Uninstall SSMS
Fallback removal methods for when the primary uninstaller fails.
🔧 Patch & Status
Config-driven multi-server patching, plus a one-command patch status summary.
How They Fit Together
A sensible order, whether standing up a new server or maintaining an existing one:
Best Practices Across the Series
- Treat every FAIL from a pre-install check as a blocker, not a note to revisit later.
- Run post-install validation more than once, configuration drift happens quietly over an instance’s working life.
- Know which scripts need elevation before scripting a fully unattended pipeline,
install-sql.ps1anduninstall-sql.ps1require it even for-WhatIf, the rest of the set doesn’t. - Never skip the confirmation prompts on uninstall scripts for anything approaching production,
-Force-equivalent flags exist for genuinely unattended automation, not as the default habit. - Keep CU lookup tables and patch configs current manually and in sync with each other, Microsoft doesn’t expose a queryable source for this.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far behind on patches is too far?
Any gap you cannot explain. Cumulative updates roll up fixes including security ones, so the question is not the number of CUs behind but whether the position was chosen or drifted into. The SQL Server builds reference shows the latest CU for every version, so you always know what current is.
Do I need to restart for a cumulative update?
Yes, plan for the restart rather than hoping. The install itself is usually quick; the outage window is the restart and the recovery of large databases afterwards.
What is worth checking before an install rather than after?
Everything painful to change later: drive layout, service accounts, collation, and tempdb file configuration. Collation in particular is effectively permanent once databases exist.
Summary
One lifecycle: ready the machine, install, configure, validate, patch, and eventually remove, for both SQL Server and SSMS.
Related
- Server Inventory
- Migration and Deployment
- How to Check SQL Server Version
- SQL Server Version Upgrade Runbook: Side-by-Side and In-Place
- Login Failed: Server Is in Script Upgrade Mode (Error 18401), and How Long to Wait Before You Worry
- SQL Server Service Will Not Start: Error 17113, 17058, 1067 and Where the Real Reason Is
- Cannot Recover the Master Database (Error 3417) and What the Log Actually Says
- SQL Server Agent Will Not Start, or “Agent XPs Component Is Turned Off” (Error 15281)
- Cannot Connect to WMI Provider: SQL Server Configuration Manager Will Not Open
- DBA Scripts: The Complete Guide
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