question

Are you installing this from a DVD or a network share? You probably have a bad set of media. I have even come across this with an ISO from MSDN awhile back with 2008 R2 Developer. You might also want to check things like virus scan that can cause issues during installation. If you can post the exact error we might be able to help further.

It could also be some prerequisite stuff that was installed on your computer, but needs to be verified/validated, and somebody has deleted the installer cache. This is not good news. I've seen similar things, and posted a few notes on the subject

I've had original installation media with errors for SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition. Not errors with the CD/DVD, but actually an incorrectly bundled installation CD/DVD.We had to copy it to a harddrive and replace some files to make it work. Specific error messages and SQL Server release would probably make it easier to help.

I've just had this problem on the laptop I'm currently rebuilding. I had installed the SQL2000 client tools (because I still have to manage SQL2k...), and was installing SQL2005 Developer edition when it complained about an invalid MSI for the SQL Native Client. Let the installation run to completion (or not - the only thing it managed to install was SSAS...) So I trawled through the Setup directory, found the sqlncli.msi, and ran that and used it to uninstall the existing SQL Native Client installation. Re-ran the main SQL2005 installer, and all is good. Yay.

Along with the error message...the version you are installing can help us narrow down your issue. Is your installation media include a service pack (like SQL 2005 with SP2), this means upon installation it will be patched to SP2. I have come across issues where I copied the installation media (from DVD or CD) to a network share so I could copy it down to servers when I wanted to install them. The issue with this on SQL Server 2005 was it was looking for a particular folder layout. This may have changed if you have media that includes a service pack. I don't think the media with SQL 2008 and later have this issue. This is the [KB article][1] that shows the folder layout SQL 2005 installation wants to see. As soon as I did this the installation magically ran to completion without errors. [1]: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916760

Great to see such suggestions. I am also a victim of this problem and I was also in search of this. I also consulted with Canon Printer Tech Support before and now I can refer you to consult there to get your problem solved.