This server role can't be installed because the following roles aren't current: AdminToolsRole

When attempting to install Exchange 2010 SP3 service pack on an Exchange 2010 SP1 server I received the following error:

This server role can't be installed because the following roles aren't current: AdminToolsRole

 

This error occurs if the original Exchange 2010 SP1 or SP2 installation did not finish "Finalizing Setup" which is the final stage in the installation process.  Failure means important registry keys are not set correctly.  In my case the Finalizing Setup did not complete because of the following error:

 

http://clintboessen.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/couldnt-resolve-user-or-group.html

 

The above error is triggered if the ConfiguredVersion does not match the UnpackedVersion registry key.  These registry keys can be found under the following location:

 

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v14\AdminTools

 

To fix this I made sure the ConfiguredVersion key matches the UnpackedVersion key as shown in the following screenshots:

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

After this I deleted the Exchange 2010 SP3 installation watermark (both the “Action” and “Watermark” entries in the registry) and re-ran setup.  Google for this, lots of information already available on the Internet.

 

Note: If you experienced this error you may also experience the following:

 

http://clintboessen.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/cannot-bind-argument-to-parameter.html