Error Installing Desktop-Experience

Article
02/02/2016

Question

_{Tuesday, February 2, 2016 1:25 AM}

I'm trying to install the desktop-experience feature on my server core system (As I need offline files support). Weather I try to install it via WDS (windows deployment services) or after installation with Install-WindowsFeature, it fails to install.

When I use install-windowsfeature I get the following error:
C:\windows\system32> Install-WindowsFeature Desktop-Experience
Install-WindowsFeature : The request to add or remove features on the specified server failed.
Installation of one or more roles, role services, or features failed.
The source files could not be downloaded.
Use the "source" option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature. For more
information on specifying a source location, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243077. Error: 0x800f0906
At line:1 char:1

Install-WindowsFeature Desktop-Experience

    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (@{Vhd=; Credent...Name=localhost}:PSObject) [Install-WindowsFeature],
    Exception
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : DISMAPI_Error__Cbs_Download_Failure,Microsoft.Windows.ServerManager.Commands.AddWindowsF
   eatureCommand

Success Restart Needed Exit Code      Feature Result

False   No             Failed         {}

When I try to install it using WDS my DISM log contains the following

2016-02-01 19:54:01, Info                  DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Encountered the option "featurename" with value "Desktop-Experience" - CPackageManagerCLIHandler::Private_GetPackagesFromCommandLine
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Info                  DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Encountered an unknown option "featurename" with value "Desktop-Experience" - CPackageManagerCLIHandler::Private_GetPackagesFromCommandLine
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Info                  DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Encountered the option "source" with value "C:\sources\sxs" - CPackageManagerCLIHandler::Private_GetPackagesFromCommandLine
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Info                  DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Encountered an unknown option "source" with value "C:\sources\sxs" - CPackageManagerCLIHandler::Private_GetPackagesFromCommandLine
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Error                 DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Failed to get the Update through CBS. - CDISMPackage::Internal_OpenFeature(hr:0x800f080c)
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Error                 DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Failed to get the underlying CBS Feature - CDISMPackage::OpenFeature(hr:0x800f080c)
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Error                 DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 Feature name Desktop-Experience is unknown. - CPackageManagerCLIHandler::Private_GetFeaturesFromCommandLine(hr:0x800f080c)
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Error                 DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Unknown features were specified on the command-line. - CPackageManagerCLIHandler::Private_GetFeaturesFromCommandLine(hr:0x800f080c)
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Error                 DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Failed to get the Feature List from the command line. - CPackageManagerCLIHandler::Private_ProcessFeatureChange(hr:0x800f080c)
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Error                 DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Failed while processing command enable-feature. - CPackageManagerCLIHandler::ExecuteCmdLine(hr:0x800f080c)
2016-02-01 19:54:01, Info                  DISM   DISM Package Manager: PID=2248 TID=2064 Further logs for online package and feature related operations can be found at %WINDIR%\logs\CBS\cbs.log - CPackageManagerCLIHandler::ExecuteCmdLine

Checking my CBS log I see:

2016-02-01 19:54:01, Info CBS Failed to get internal update: Desktop-Experience in Package: Microsoft-Windows-ServerCore-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.3.9600.16384 [HRESULT = 0x800f080c - CBS_E_UNKNOWN_UPDATE]

The system in question does not have internet access during the install process although once the server is deployed it does have access to a proxy defined using:

netsh winhttp set proxy ourproxy.ourdomain.local:8080

And I can download windows updates using the proxy just fine. Note that I'm using a "Windows Server 2012 R2 VL with Update (x64)" (from MSDN) - which states Includes November 2014 update roll up. Note - no other windows updates are installed during the deployment.

Why does the desktop-experience feature not install?

Thanks
Brad

All replies (4)

_{Wednesday, February 3, 2016 6:39 AM ✅Answered}

Hi,

According to the error message, it seems that “The source files could not be downloaded”.

Try to use the commend line with “-source” parameter, details you may reference(Section - To use Windows PowerShell to convert from a Server Core installation to a Server with a GUI installation):
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831786.aspx

Besides, if your server core has been patched with latest Windows Updates, then, your source installation file should also has the same patches. Below is an resolve thread which is similar as yours, just for your reference:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/737c3070-f651-494a-bc88-d60731616055/cant-install-desktop-experience-on-server-2012-sources-problem?forum=winserver8gen

Best Regards,
Eve Wang

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact tnmff@microsoft.com.

_{Tuesday, February 2, 2016 3:19 AM | 1 vote}

You mention that you are installing the desktop-experience.

on a Windows Server core...

The Desktop Experience feature requires that you also install the Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure and Server Graphical Shell features.

See this TechNet article

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn609826.aspx

Try installing those features first then the desktop-experience.

(It was not clear that you were doing that from the post)

Please mark this as the answer if it was helpful

Yours

_{Tuesday, February 2, 2016 1:21 PM}

We're using IIS shared configuration on our server core systems.

Per the Microsoft documentation:

"Problem summary: When IIS 7.0 or above server is configured to work in shared configuration mode then configuration files are stored on a file share. This configuration is recommended for setting up web farms. But in case file share goes offline, the whole set up fails and web servers stop responding. Moreover when the file share comes up again, IIS server is not able to detect it gives following error message:

HTTP Error 500.19 - internal server errorThe requested page cannot be accessed because the related configuration data for the page is invalid.

We have to do an IISreset to start the web servers again after this."

The proposed solution to this issue is to use offline files to ensure that the IIS shared configuration is always available. More here: http://www.iis.net/learn/web-hosting/configuring-servers-in-the-windows-web-platform/offline-files-for-shared-configuration

(Offline files is a subset of the Desktop-Experience feature - which is why I'm trying to install that feature.)

However from what I can understand of your response above, and from the technet article in order for the desktop experience feature to be installed the Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure and Server Graphical Shell features need to be installed.

However at that point I no longer have a server core installation but rather the full blown version of windows. So is there really no way to get offline files on server core?

Certainly there must be people who want to run IIS shared configuration on server core? So how is one to set this up?
In the mean time I'll see if I can even install Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra and Server-Gui-Shell or if that fails too.

Thanks
Brad

_{Tuesday, February 2, 2016 1:54 PM}

Installing Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra and Server-Gui-Shell doesn't work either:

C:\windows\system32> Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell
Install-WindowsFeature : The request to add or remove features on the specified server failed.
Installation of one or more roles, role services, or features failed.
The source files could not be downloaded.
Use the "source" option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature. For more
information on specifying a source location, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243077. Error: 0x800f0906
At line:1 char:1

Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell

Success Restart Needed Exit Code      Feature Result

False   No             Failed         {}

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Error Installing Desktop-Experience

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