Error 1718 when applying VSTS SP1 on Windows Server 2003

I had to add the TFS Build Service to an existing Windows Server 2003 machine for a client today. After installing the TFS Build components and applying the TFS SP1 update, I wanted to apply VSTS SP1 to the machine. They have VSTS installed on the server so they can execute tests and code analysis as part of their automated build process.

When I double-clicked the VS80sp1-KB926601-X86-ENU.exe file I received the following error – “Error 1718.File C:WINDOWSInstaller2adcb2dd.msp did not pass the digital signature check.

W2K3_MSI_Issue

A quick visit to the suggested link http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=73863 reveals an interesting issue when applying a large Microsoft Windows Installer (.msi) package or a large Microsoft Windows Installer patch (.msp) package on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or Microsoft Windows XP.

Fortunately there is a hotfix readily available for Windows Server 2003 that fixes the issue and allowed me to apply the service pack without further incident.