getting "an error occurred while configuring Windows Server Essentials. Please try again." at 71%.  I have looked at and added \ServerAdmin$ and \MediaAdmin$ to the group policy "log on as a service" and its not helping.  Cannot find any errors in the event viewer and the logs in c:\programdata\micrisoft\windows server\logs are not obvious on that the issue is.  Anyone have any ideas?

In addition in the error.log I am getting a single line:

FATAL: ConfigureRAMGroupsTask: ConfigRAMGroupFailed

Hello,

Can you check the events under: Application and Services logs -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Server Essentials->Deployement

Also, Please check if there is some unresolved GUID under the built-in Administrator group or the groups of which the user with which you are logged in to configure Essentials is member of.

Is this a clean install or some form of migration, other DC's. 

scandisk

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

As well as m

No unexpected events there, and no unresolved guid in any group of the AD

This is a clean install on a fresh server 2012 (in an existing 2008 based domain). All come back clean.

Can you also check Application events.

Do you see any Service Crashing event ?

There has to be something in event viewer.

So you joined this server to the 2008 domain before you added the role and tried to configure it? You have not messed with certs or installed any roles other than the essentials role?

Correct.

Nothing indicating an error in event viewer. The only thing I get in can nfiguration logfiles in the message about the error configuring ramgroup

Hi,

According to your description, my understanding is that it is failed to install Essentials Experience role on clean installed Windows Server 2012 R2(belongs to WS 2008 domain) with error "an error occurred while configuring Windows Server Essentials. Please try again." 

I want to confirm with you that if you want to add the Essentials Experience as a member server of WS 2008 domain. If so, make sure that the user account(which is necessary to entered in Administrator credentials section of Configure Windows Server Essentials wizard) is the member of the Enterprise Admin group, Domain Admin group and Local Admin group on the target server. 

Besides, you may check the blogs below for detailed information about Deploying Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard/Datacenter with Windows Server Essentials Experience role in an Existing Active Directory Environment:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2014/02/17/deploying-windows-server-2012-r2-standard-datacenter-with-windows-server-essentials-experience-role-in-an-existing-active-directory-environment.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2014/02/21/deploying-windows-server-2012-r2-essentials-in-an-existing-active-directory-environment.aspx

Best Regards,
Eve Wang

We had one doing similar here in the Lab at around 67% though the error was cert not config ram.  We decided there was corruption and did a fresh install

Can you check SharedServiceHostManagementServiceConfig.log I hope the server fulfills the minimum requirements like OS drive should be minimum 60 GB and total space on the server 160 GB atleast.

in that log I see the error: [916] 150723.032257.6909: ActiveDirectoryAdapter: Failed to get Sid for WSSGroupType RemoteAccess

the server meets the requirements.  OS drive is 300 GB and total Disk Space is 3.5 TB

Any suggestions about the above error?

Here is another clue I just found... Every time I retry the configuration, it creates another group in AD called "WSERemoteWebAccessUsersXX" where XX is the number of the retry.

Remove all the group with "XX" there should be only 1 WSERemoteAccessUsers group.

Check all the members of this group is there any unresolved GIUD in there ?

is the user part of this group?