Package ‘Microsoft SQL Managment Studio Package’ failed to load

I had  a fresh Windows 7 operating system, SQL Server install, and had just finished installing SQL Server management Studio(SSMS). I tried running SSMS and got the failed to load error. I had noticed when I was researching this error there were a few solutions besides the one I found, so I thought I’d compile them here.

Solution 1 : Re-installing SQL Server Management Studio

This would make sense to fix any corrupted files that may have been installed during the initial install process. To do this with 08, go to Maintenance -> Repair. Follow the prompts to repair the instance. Also, for other versions, you can use the following

start /wait [Drive of the Media]:\[Location Of The Media]\setup.exe /qb REINSTALL=SQL_Tools90 REINSTALLMODE=OMUS


Solution 2 : Re-installing the Frameworks

Another reason this could have failed is that when I installed one of my frameworks, something was corrupted. To make sure you have the latest, you can find the different versions here:

• 3.5 Framework
• 4.0 Framework

Solution 3 : The Shortcut Points To The Wrong Path

Sometimes the shortcut on the desktop will point to a shared or network location. Ensure the path is absolute to your SSMS application (c:\Program Files\SQL Server….)

Some more reading and forum posts :

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/sqltools/thread/75e2f725-338f-41a7-b66b-5fb4be2d339c/

http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic368851-146-1.aspx#bm368866