This blog post is about a situation that initially perplexed me – I was installing SQL Server 2017 onto a new DEMO machine – running Windows Server 2019. This install is one I have done over 50 times, if not more.
Halfway through I got an interesting error that (1) I’ve never seen before and (2) did not expect post SQL Server 2014.
MSI Error: 1706 An installation package for the product Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Native Client cannot be found. Try the installation again using a valid copy of the installation package ‘sqlncli.msi’.
Read on for the solution. And note that it also happens with Visual Studio 2017.