Previous document reference: SKB 5607
This KB article is specific to users who encounter the following message during the installation of Shavlik Protect:
"Installation Failed. A data conversion error has been detected during the database upgrade process."
Background
The installer will attempt to migrate old Protect data to the new database format. During this migration process, the SQL data upgrade function may fail to complete if it encounters unexpected data.
'Unexpected data' might be encountered in Shavlik Protect databases that have been upgraded several times in the past (ex. data upgraded from 6.0 to 6.1 to 6.5 to 7.X, 7.X to 8.X etc.)
Options
There are several ways to proceed when this error has been encountered:
1. The quickest way to get Shavlik Protect up and running is to restart the installation process. Select the option to create a new database rather than upgrade an existing database. Make sure to select a new database name (so you don't overwrite your old database). This will enable you to install the current version of Protect and begin performing scans immediately. However, you will not be able to access your old scan results or console configurations until you follow the below steps.
2. A log file is created during the DB migration process: DatabaseConfiguration.log Information contained in this log will assist Shavlik support professionals to diagnose the offending data element. Please contact Shavlik Support and provide this log file as requested. It may be possible to modify the offending data so that the database migration can continue. If the data can be updated, you may run the 'Database Setup Tool' from the Start Menu - Shavlik folder. The setup tool will re-run the database migration process - you may select to connect to the 'cleaned' database. You may re-run this tool as many time as you need - this will allow you to connect to various Shavlik Protect databases without losing any data.
3. In some instances, the Shavlik Support team may be unable to diagnose the database issue over the phone. They may request that you send the data file to the Support team where our inhouse engineers can correct the bad data. Shavlik recognizes that not all customers are comfortable to or are able to send their patch database to Shavlik.
4. As a last resort, create a backup copy of the Shavlik database, then delete as many old scan records as possible. (The offending data is most likely from an old scan result.) Shavlik Support can provide you with a tool that will enable you to automatically delete old scan records. You may instruct the tool to 'delete all records prior to a specified date' or 'delete all records more than X days old'. Contact Shavlik Support to obtain this tool.