Fencing Time Server and Windows 11/Windows Server 2022 Issues


On some PCs running Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022, you may get an error when attempting to install the Fencing Time Server. This error, which is reported as "Error -2061893606", is caused by a specific hardware configuration present on some PCs.

Technical Explanation
The root cause of this issue is the SQL Server database used by the Fencing Time Server. SQL Server requires the sector size of your system drive to be no larger than 4 kilobytes. On PCs running Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022 on newer NVMe SSDs, larger sector sizes (such as 8k or 16k) are supported. Since SQL Server only supports 4k sectors, it fails to install and generates the error.

For Microsoft's explanation of the problem, see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/database-engine/database-file-operations/troubleshoot-os-4kb-disk-sector-size.

Solution

To fix the problem, we recommend following the procedure outlined by Microsoft in the above article. The following steps outline the process. Note that these steps require some technical know-how, so you may want to enlist the help of someone familiar with command-line operation of a PC if you are not comfortable with these steps. You can also contact us at support@fencingtime.com for assistance.

  1. Open a Windows command prompt running in adminstrator mode.
  2. Run the command fsutil fsinfo sectorinfo C: to view the reported properties of your system drive.
  3. If either PhysicalBytesPerSectorForPerformance or PhysicalBytesPerSectorForAtomicity shows a number greater than 4096, that confirms that this is indeed the problem you are having.
  4. Run the command REG ADD "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\stornvme\Parameters\Device" /v "ForcedPhysicalSectorSizeInBytes" /t REG_MULTI_SZ /d "* 4095" /f
  5. Run the command REG QUERY "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\stornvme\Parameters\Device" /v "ForcedPhysicalSectorSizeInBytes" to confirm the last command was successful.
  6. Reboot your PC.
  7. Try installing the Fencing Time Server again. You should no longer see the error.

If you have questions, or still are unable to install the Fencing Time Server, contact us at support@fencingtime.com for assistance.