I am trying to install the Exchange 2010 Management Tools onto a client. We have Exchange 2010 running already elsewhere, but have been doing RDP to the server in order to add mailboxes, etc., need to have more administrators on their own Windows 7 client computers doing remote management.

1. Windows 7 Enterprise (64bit) client computer in same domain as Exchange servers, UAC disabled, logged in as a domain administrator. Fresh restart. No updates pending. Noticed article http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc164360(v=exchg.80).aspx "A Restart from a Previous Installation is Pending" and numerous posts that indicated I should clear "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\UpdateExeVolatile" or clear "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\PendingFileRenameOperations" - but neither of these keys exist on my computer!
2. Downloaded and unzipped Exchange2010-SP3-x64.exe to C:\Temp
3. Ran C:\Temp\setup.exe
4. Checked off the options:  a) Error Reporting - Yes (Recommended). b) Custom Exchange Server Installation. c) Select "Management Tools". d) LEAVE UNSELECTED "Automatically install Windows Server roles and features required for Exchange". 
5. Get the following errors

Summary: 3 item(s). 1 succeeded, 2 failed.
Elapsed time: 00:00:22

Configuring Prerequisites
Completed

Elapsed Time: 00:00:01

Management Tools Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
A reboot from a previous installation is pending. Please restart the system and rerun setup.
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex28883C&l=0&cl=cp

Warning:
Setup cannot contact the primary DNS server (172.17.253.51) using TCP port 53. Check that the IP address of the DNS server is correct and that the DNS server is reachable.

Elapsed Time: 00:00:17

Languages Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
A reboot from a previous installation is pending. Please restart the system and rerun setup.
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex28883C&l=0&cl=cp

Warning:
Setup cannot contact the primary DNS server (172.17.253.51) using TCP port 53. Check that the IP address of the DNS server is correct and that the DNS server is reachable.

Elapsed Time: 00:00:03

Already have reviewed many articles on this topic, none seem to apply to my situation. I am going crazy trying to solve it.

Why do you leave unselected the prerequisites checkbox?  And you've restarted the machines, right?  Have you looked in the Exchange Setup Log

1. This is a not an Exchange Server install, so I unchecked item indicating SERVER prerequisites. Also Win 7 already meet minimum requirements for management tools.

2. Yes, as indicated, Win7 computer had been restarted before beginning.

What about the original question, "A reboot from a previous installation is pending" which is apparently not true? Other searches for help on this topic have not been helpful. Bottom line: How to install Exchange 2010 Management Tools?

• Edited by George Perkins Monday, November 18, 2013 2:33 PM added PS

You need to check the box which will install the pre-requisites for Exchange. Some of the components are required for management tools as well.

Check the box and run the setup.

Thanks for offering help. Since two have suggested I need the server prerequisites, I figured, it couldn't hurt. I reran the install (setup.exe 14.03.0123.002) and included "Automatically install Windows Server roles and features required for Exchange" as requested.  

The installation failed again. But did give more symptoms (while still getting the reboot pending problem). Here is the error dialog box contents:

Summary: 3 item(s). 0 succeeded, 3 failed.
Elapsed time: 00:00:36

Configuring Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
The following error was generated when "$error.Clear();
          if($RoleInstallWindowsComponents)
          {
            # Install any Windows Roles or Features required for the Management Tools role
            if ($RoleIsWindows8OrHigher)
            {
              if($RoleADToolsNeeded)
              {
                $ADToolsNeeded = 1
              }
              else
              {
                $ADToolsNeeded = 0
              }
              Invoke-Expression " Powershell -Command {& $RoleBinPath\InstallWindowsComponent.ps1 -ShortNameForRole AdminTools -ADToolsNeeded $ADToolsNeeded} "
            }
            else
            {
              Install-WindowsComponent -ShortNameForRole "AdminTools" -ADToolsNeeded $RoleADToolsNeeded
            }
          }
        " was run: "The system cannot find the file specified".

The system cannot find the file specified
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex88D115&l=0&cl=cp

Elapsed Time: 00:00:01

Management Tools Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
A reboot from a previous installation is pending. Please restart the system and rerun setup.
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex28883C&l=0&cl=cp

Warning:
Setup cannot contact the primary DNS server (172.17.253.51) using TCP port 53. Check that the IP address of the DNS server is correct and that the DNS server is reachable.

Elapsed Time: 00:00:32

Languages Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
A reboot from a previous installation is pending. Please restart the system and rerun setup.
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex28883C&l=0&cl=cp

Warning:
Setup cannot contact the primary DNS server (172.17.253.51) using TCP port 53. Check that the IP address of the DNS server is correct and that the DNS server is reachable.

Elapsed Time: 00:00:03

The additional help links above take me to an empty technet page which states "You've found an error that doesn't have an article written about it. Don't worry though, help is still available. The forums are the best place to start."

I'm troubled about the DNS warnings.  Can you telnet to port 53 on the DNS server?

Also, you've installed the prerequisites, correct?  And the Windows 7 machine is 64-bit, correct?

Here's a good write-up:

http://exchangeserverpro.com/exchange-2010-install-management-tool

As I've said this workstation meets the requirements for installation of the Management Tools. It is 64bit.

Thanks for the link to the exchangeserverpro.com installation instructions blog. It is something I had already reviewed. There are many comments with problems, so many in fact it is confusing what finally worked for people who ran into snags. Many also reported the "reboot from a previous installation is pending" problem (that I am getting), but their solution to that problem is not obvious, since, as I originally posted, the Microsoft answer to that error message is contained in "http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc164360(v=exchg.80).aspx" and the registry keys do not exist on my Win7 client. The other solution in the comments seemed to be to exclude the "Automatically install Windows Server roles and features required for Exchange" during install (but so far Ed and Rajith want me to include that option). The blog is quite old, and so I hoped the SP3 for Exchange 2010 would have fixed the installer issues identified in the comments on that blog... but apparently not!

DNS is working in our environment. The IP address in the error message points to a network load balancer (NetScaler by Citrix) and does not respond on telnet using port 53... It is our standard DHCP-provided configuration for client DNS. (Does the Exchange installer for Management Tools have some unique DNS requirements beyond normal name resolution? If so, does the Exchange admin need DNS admin rights?) Just to remove the load balancer from the equation, I changed my Win7 client network adapter settings to use two real, physical actual Microsoft AD domain controllers to resolve DNS. I performed an IPCONFIG /FLUSHDNS. Then re-ran the Exchange 2010 installer. The specific error for DNS has gone away now that I am not using our enterprise's standard load balancer DNS client configuation. I really need to know why this is an Exchange management tools requirement. Any ideas?

But still no-go on getting the Exchange 2010 Management Tools to install. Here are the latest errors on the Readiness Checks:

Summary: 3 item(s). 0 succeeded, 3 failed.
Elapsed time: 00:00:25

Configuring Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
The following error was generated when "$error.Clear();
          if($RoleInstallWindowsComponents)
          {
            # Install any Windows Roles or Features required for the Management Tools role
            if ($RoleIsWindows8OrHigher)
            {
              if($RoleADToolsNeeded)
              {
                $ADToolsNeeded = 1
              }
              else
              {
                $ADToolsNeeded = 0
              }
              Invoke-Expression " Powershell -Command {& $RoleBinPath\InstallWindowsComponent.ps1 -ShortNameForRole AdminTools -ADToolsNeeded $ADToolsNeeded} "
            }
            else
            {
              Install-WindowsComponent -ShortNameForRole "AdminTools" -ADToolsNeeded $RoleADToolsNeeded
            }
          }
        " was run: "The system cannot find the file specified".

The system cannot find the file specified
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex88D115&l=0&cl=cp

Elapsed Time: 00:00:01

Management Tools Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
A reboot from a previous installation is pending. Please restart the system and rerun setup.
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex28883C&l=0&cl=cp

Elapsed Time: 00:00:20

Languages Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
A reboot from a previous installation is pending. Please restart the system and rerun setup.
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex28883C&l=0&cl=cp

Elapsed Time: 00:00:03

If I remove the "Automatically install Windows Server roles and features required for Exchange" on the installer, I do not get the PowerShell error, just the "installation is pending" errors:

Summary: 3 item(s). 1 succeeded, 2 failed.
Elapsed time: 00:00:39

Configuring Prerequisites
Completed

Elapsed Time: 00:00:00

Management Tools Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
A reboot from a previous installation is pending. Please restart the system and rerun setup.
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex28883C&l=0&cl=cp

Elapsed Time: 00:00:12

Languages Prerequisites
Failed

Error:
A reboot from a previous installation is pending. Please restart the system and rerun setup.
Click here for help... http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms.exch.err.default(EXCHG.141).aspx?v=14.3.123.3&e=ms.exch.err.Ex28883C&l=0&cl=cp

Elapsed Time: 00:00:02

Which puts me right back to where I started in this thread. 

When you say that it does not respond, what exactly do you see?  Have you tried running NSLOOKUP from the client machine and trying to resolve names from that DNS server?

When you run IPCONFIG /ALL, what do you see for the DNS server set

I gave up on the specific preferred client computer. I used a new Win7 image and installed the Management Tools. I do not know what was wrong with the original and have wasted too much time already on it.

To get the tools to install on the new client, I needed to change our default DNS server to an actual Windows DC. Using the DNS load balancer configuration was not compatible with the Exchange setup.exe installer.

To get the tools to install, I specifically LEAVE UNSELECTED "Automatically install Windows Server roles and features required for Exchange". This install is not an Exchange server, just a client.

After completion of the install I restored the network adapater settings to the enterprise DHCP default (which uses the DNS load balancer). The Exchange Management Console opened fine, it doesn't seem to care that the DNS server is actually a non-Windows non-DC.

Thanks to all who responded during trouble-shooting.

• Marked as answer by George Perkins Monday, November 18, 2013 8:09 PM

To resolve this I deleted the following reg key:

• Proposed as answer by vosh36 Wednesday, April 29, 2015 5:15 PM

To resolve this I deleted the following reg key:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\PendingFileRenameOperations

I was having this exact issue as well.  This got it for me.  Thanks much!!!

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\PendingFileRenameOperations

• Edited by Lordgrantis 9 hours 30 minutes ago