So, we have an SQL Server 2008 R2 that hosts the databases for our ERP and accounting software. A while ago, our ERP guy tried to run that thingy in SQL Server Management Studio that supposedly monitors what queries the database gets, how it performs, and then gives suggestions how to improve performance (by e.g. adding or reconfiguring indices or something like that).
Except, it does not work in our case. All we get is an error message saying that there was an error loading msxmlsql.dll
Google then told me about other people facing the very same problem, and about how they resolved the problem by copying msxmlsql.dll and .rll from the installation DVD to their respective locations. So we did that and rebooted the server (not even sure if that would be required, just making sure). That did not help at all, though.
Someone else had reported fixing the problem by removing other software that was installed on their machines, specifically SQL Server Express Edition and Sharepoint Foundation. Neither is installed on our server, though. :( SQL Server Compact Edition 3.5 SP2 is installed, but I am not sure if that makes a difference and if I can just remove it or if it is needed by some application.
The control panel lists both SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 as installed, so that MIGHT have to do with the problem, but I am reluctant to uninstalled 2008, because that will surely break something or other (it's Microsoft, after all...). If the problem is still unsolved after Christmas, I will try that, though, because then most people will be on vacation, so I won't keep them from working.
More recently, I was trying to get a trial version of Dynamics CRM 2013 to work, but the setup failed, too, complaining about not being able to load msxmlsql.dll. This time, I ran SysInternals' Process Monitor, and as far as I can tell, msxmlsql.dll WAS loaded and CreateFileMapping was also successful. The SQL Server's log files, of course, do not contain any kind of useful information, either, so I am starting to feel a little desparate here.
If anyone has faced the same kind of problem and found a solution, please let me know! If there is another way of figuring out what is going on here, please let me know, too. The machine is running Windows Server 2008 with SP2, it is a 64-bit system, so is SQL Server.
Thank you very much for any insights you feel like sharing with me, and in any case, have a nice weekend!