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Question

Pre-Upgrade Validation Fails in Dark Site Environment

  • November 6, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 65 views

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Hello,

 

I am attempting to perform an in-place upgrade of my CommServe in a dark site environment, which includes upgrading the SQL.

I am facing a critical problem, and standard procedures have failed.

 

Problem 1: Pre-Upgrade Validation Failure

 

When I run the Setup.exe from my downloaded installation package, the Pre-Upgrade Validation check fails with this error:

Automatic upgrade of the existing SQL Server instance is allowed but SQL Standard media is not available in the source media.

Context:

  • I downloaded the full installation package from the Commvault Cloud Services portal onto an internet-facing machine.

  • I ensured to include all Third-Party Software (Microsoft SQL Server Standard).

  • I have manually verified that the SQL media is physically present in my source package (in the ...\ThirdParty\MSSQL\SQL_Standard_Edition directory).

  • My CommServe is a "dark site" and has no internet connectivity.

 

Problem 2: Software Cache Corruption (The Root Cause)

 

I suspect the validation is failing because it's checking the corrupt local Software Cache on the CommServe, not my new source package.

When I attempt to synchronize my new package with the CommServe using the standard procedure for dark sites (Tools > Add/Remove Software > Copy Software), the job fails with Error Code [68:1].

Checking the DownloadSoftware.log on the CommServe reveals the true underlying issue: a cache database corruption.

Log Error:

 

Summary & Troubleshooting Steps Taken

 

This puts me in a "Catch-22" situation:

  1. I cannot run the Upgrade because the Pre-Upgrade check fails (it can't find the SQL media).

  2. I cannot fix the cache using "Copy Software" because the copy job also fails due to the cache database corruption (the transaction id error).

What I have already tried without success:

  • Manually clearing the contents of the C:\Program Files\Commvault\ContentStore\SoftwareCache directory. The subsequent "Copy Software" job fails with the same transaction ID error.

  • Running the Pre-Upgrade Validation from the new, full source package (it still fails, likely because it defaults to checking the corrupt local cache).

  • Attempting a manual in-place upgrade of SQL Server (this also did not resolve the Commvault validation check).

My Question: How can I forcefully reset or rebuild the local Software Cache database (the "DVD") in a dark site environment? I need a way to bypass the transaction id conflict so I can successfully copy my new, full installation media into the cache and proceed with the upgrade.

Thank you.

3 replies

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  • Vaulter
  • November 7, 2025

Hi ​@Michael G ,

 

The Transaction ID error encountered during the copy operation was previously identified as a defect, and a fix has been included in the latest maintenance release.

Considering that the site is a dark site, we can proceed with installing the latest maintenance release for the current version. After the installation, the next steps would be to clean the cache, reinitiate a new copy software job, and then verify whether the cache can be used for subsequent upgrades.

Latest fix details.

https://documentation.commvault.com/2024e/software/files/service_pack/updates/11_36_80.htm


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  • Bit
  • November 10, 2025

HI ​@Michael GG

The issue is caused by a corrupted Software Cache database, not by missing SQL media. Even if the SQL files exist in your offline package, the Pre-Upgrade Validation checks the local cache metadata first — and if that’s corrupted, the validation fails.

Fix:

1. Stop all Commvault services.


2. Delete the entire cache folder and the file cache.db located under
C:\Program Files\Commvault\ContentStore\SoftwareCache.


3. Restart the services — the cache structure will rebuild automatically.


4. Run Tools → Add/Remove Software → Copy Software, and point it to your full offline installation package (including SQL Standard media).


5. Re-run the Pre-Upgrade Validation.

This resets the transaction ID conflict and lets the system correctly detect the SQL Server media.

If the cache corruption persists, you can also remove the registry key
HKLM\Software\CommVault Systems\Galaxy\Instance001\SoftwareCache
(before recreating it).

After that, the upgrade should validate and proceed normally.


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  • Author
  • November 11, 2025

Thanks, ​@Pradeep, It worked great.