Tips and tricks for applying SQL Server 2005 hotfixes

Tips and tricks:

• You can install any hotfix in silent mode passing the parameter /quiet to the executable in the command prompt or in a batch file. This is extremely helpful if you want to push the hotfix installation with a third party tool and without the wizard interface
  
• The /? parameter will give you the rest of the options for installing the hotfix. A very useful option is /allinstances
• You might wonder why would you like to run any hotfix unsupervised, it might not make sense on a stand alone server but it makes sense when you have a few dozen of remote subscribers and/or you deploy SQLE as part of a SmartClient application. Your batch script can provide you with the installation log afterwards.
• You cannot rollback a hotfix or a SQL Server Service Pack. The only option is to reinstall the SQL Server instance. Plan your testing very carefully...
• If you have a virtual drive on the box where you're applying the hotfix beware that it will try to unzip its files in it. If that virtual drive is read only or used for another purposes you might have troubles. To determine if there is a virtual drive on your box run the command subst. You can always delete the virtual drive apply the hotfix (it will unzip on c: or the drive where the windows installation is, as expected) and put back the virtual drive after the hotfix is applied.

Hope this helps and happy patching!