Author: Mukesh Lilawat
Updated: October 2025
🧩 Overview
After updating to Windows 11 version 25H2, many developers are facing a strange issue — MySQL Installer fails to install MySQL Server, showing error messages like:
"The installer has encountered an unexpected error installing this package. The error code is 2738."
Even running this command fails:
regsvr32 vbscript.dll
With the error:
“The module vbscript.dll failed to load. The specified module could not be found.”
If this sounds familiar — don’t worry, you’re not alone. This article explains why this happens and the complete solution with working steps for 2025 systems.
⚙️ Root Cause — Why MySQL Installer Breaks on Windows 11 25H2
Microsoft has removed VBScript support starting with Windows 11 24H2 / 25H2 builds (and Windows Server 2025).
VBScript was deprecated in favor of PowerShell and modern scripting APIs.
However, MySQL’s Windows Installer (MSI) still depends on VBScript internally — especially during:
- Service registration
- Configuration steps
- Custom action execution during setup
So when VBScript is missing, the installer crashes with:
Error code 2738
and fails to install the MySQL Server.
🧨 The Bad News
As of October 2025, VBScript cannot be re-enabled or reinstalled on Windows 11 25H2.
Running:
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:VBScript /all
returns:
Feature name VBScript is unknown.
This means the old MSI-based MySQL Installer will never work on these versions.
✅ The Good News — MySQL Still Works Perfectly!
MySQL itself (the mysqld.exe service) does not require VBScript.
Only the installer GUI does.
So, you can still:
- Run MySQL locally
- Use MySQL Workbench
- Manage databases as usual
The fix?
Install MySQL manually from the ZIP archive.
🧩 Step-by-Step Fix — Manual MySQL ZIP Installation
Step 1: Download MySQL ZIP Package
Go to the official MySQL download page:
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/
Choose:
- Windows (x86, 64-bit), ZIP Archive
- Version: MySQL 8.0.43 (recommended)
Extract it to:
C:\mysql
Step 2: Initialize Data Directory
Open Command Prompt as Administrator, then run:
cd C:\mysql\bin
mysqld --initialize --console
Step 3: Install MySQL as a Windows Service
mysqld --install MySQL --defaults-file="C:\mysql\my.ini"
If my.ini doesn’t exist, create a new one at C:\mysql\my.ini with this content:
[mysqld]
basedir=C:/mysql
datadir=C:/mysql/data
port=3306
sql_mode=NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION,STRICT_TRANS_TABLES
Step 4: Start MySQL Server
net start mysql
If everything worked, you’ll see:
The MySQL service was started successfully.
Step 5: Set Your Root Password (root)
mysql -u root
ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'root';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
🧠 Optional: Let MySQL Workbench Auto-Detect the Server
Workbench uses registry entries to find local servers.
Since we did a manual install, we’ll create one manually.
Open Notepad and paste:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MySQL AB]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MySQL AB\MySQL Server 8.0]
"Location"="C:\mysql"
"Version"="8.0.43"
Save it as:
mysql_fix.reg
Then:
- Right-click → Merge
- Approve admin prompts
Now restart MySQL Workbench, and it should auto-detect your server as “Local MySQL Instance”.
⚠️ Common Workbench Warning
When connecting, you may see:
“Incompatible/nonstandard server version or connection protocol detected (9.5.0).”
This is just a harmless warning — click “Continue Anyway”.
MySQL Workbench works fully fine with 8.0.43 or newer builds.
🧰 Alternative Options
🐋 Option 1 — Run MySQL via Docker
docker run --name mysql -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=1215 -p 3306:3306 -d mysql:8.0
🐧 Option 2 — Use WSL (Ubuntu Subsystem)
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mysql-server
🧾 Summary Table
| Method | Works on Win 25H2? | Needs VBScript? | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| MySQL MSI Installer | No | Yes | Easy (but broken) |
| ZIP Manual Install | Yes | No | Medium |
| Docker | Yes | No | Easy |
| WSL | Yes | No | Medium |
🏁 Conclusion
The removal of VBScript in Windows 11 25H2 broke legacy installers like MySQL’s MSI,
but MySQL itself is fully functional.
By using the ZIP archive or Docker method, you can easily set up MySQL 8.0.43 with full Workbench support — no VBScript required.
Developers: don’t panic — MySQL isn’t dead on Windows, it just needs a smarter install.
✍️ Bonus Tip
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