"Internal error 28173, 2146498298" when installing vCenter Server 5.1 Update 1 or 5.5

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Unable to install vCenter Server 5.1 Update 1 or 5.5 in a Windows Server 2012 system.
• You see the error:
  
  Internal error 28173, 2146498298
   
• You may see the error:
  
  Error 28173.Setup failed to enable Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. Enable this feature in Windows Server Manager before installing vCenter Server.
   
• In the %temp%\vminst.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 10:55:12 Getting Property VersionNT = 602
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 10:55:12 --- function: EnableFeatureOnWindows
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 10:55:12 [C:\Windows\system32\DISM.exe…See moreVMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 10:55:12 [C:\Windows\system32\DISM.exe /online /enable-feature /all /featurename:NetFx3 ]
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 10:55:12 Util_Launch::Wait: 1 Hide: 1
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 10:55:12 Found "C:\Windows\system32\DISM.exe"
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 10:55:12 Attempting to launch ["C:\Windows\system32\DISM.exe" /online /enable-feature /all /featurename:NetFx3 ]
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 11:02:24 Process returned 2148468998
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 11:02:24 Util_Launch::done Res: 1
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 11:02:24 Error executing DISM.exe: [C:\Windows\system32\ /featurename:NetFx3] failed with error code [2148468998]
  VMware Single Sign On-build-1027680: 11:02:24 Posting error message

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x

Cause

This issue occurs if NetFx3, the ServerCore feature of Microsoft .NET Framework is not installed. By default, NetFx3 is not installed in Windows 2012 and must be manually installed.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, install the NetFx3 feature manually before installing vCenter Server.

To install the NetFx3 feature:

1. Mount the Windows Server 2012 ISO in the virtual machine.
2. Open an elevated command prompt. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (1003892).
3. Run this command:
   
   dism /online /enable-feature /all /featurename:NetFX3 /source:drive_letter:\sources\sxs
   
   Where drive_letter is the drive where the ISO is mounted.