So there I was, happily installing this spanking new shinkwrap of Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 onto a spare computer. The code only came out a couple of weeks ago, so it is hot off the production line.

SBS takes a while to install, but it is a huge product. Somewhere near the end of the install, however, the setup program fell over telling me it could not complete.

I had a little trawl of the Microsoft SBS website whereupon my eyes landed on the yellow warning triangle and the words:

Installation Update
See how this update affects all new installations of Windows SharePoint Services and Windows Small Business Server 2003 (standard and premium editions) or upgrades of Windows Small Business Server 2003 (standard and premium editions), installed after November 24, 2003

Since yesterday evening was the 4th December, I thought this could be related to my problem.

Clicking on this took me here, where the gory details are laid bare.

Apparently, The problem is due to an error in the way certain dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) are validated. Currently, the installation process incorrectly interprets some DLLs as invalid, when in fact they are valid.

And this is obviously time-driven such that it works before November 24th 2003 but fails after November 24th.

Do we think there are some timestamps or certificates that expire on 24th November lurking somewhere in the product? Might it be old time-out code from the Beta which has managed to sneak through to the shinkwrap? Is someone in the SBS code-build lab being royally spanked at the moment?

Who knows? Time will tell, and MS is working on a proper fix, but for the time being no-one at Microsoft UK is available for comment. ®