Error when attempting to upgrade MSDE to Express using command line /UPGRADE

When attemping to install SQL 2005 Express using the following command line arguments

/qb UPGRADE=SQL_Engine INSTANCENAME=MY_INSTANCE

or

/qb UPGRADE=SQL_Engine INSTANCENAME=MY_INSTANCE SECURITYMODE=SQL SAPWD=MY_PASSWORD

the following error occurs.

Your upgrade is blocked. For more information about upgrade support, see the "Version and Edition Upgrades" and "Hardware and Software Requirements" topics in SQL Server 2005 Setup Help or SQL Server 2005 Books Online.

Edition check:

Your upgrade is blocked because of edition upgrade rules. For more information about edition upgrades, see the Version and Edition Upgrades topic in SQL Server 2005 Setup Help or SQL Server 2005 Books Online.

The following version and editions have been verified.

1. .NET 2.0 installed

2. Windows XP SP2

3. MSDE 8.00.2039(SP4)

4. all MSDE databases are owned by sa

5. Instance and SQLAgent running under user that is member of Administrators

What are the possible reasons this error is occurring?

Hi gafrank,

Did you ever resolve this issue?

Mike

|||Yes. Thank you.