KB46510: "ServerInstanceName cannot be null" error is encountered when starting the Intelligence Server process via Service Manager in MicroStrategy 9.x. Additionally, the Intelligence Server cannot be configured through the Configuration Wizard.

SYMPTOM:
 
"ServerInstanceName cannot be null" error is encountered when starting the Intelligence Server process via Service Manager in Strategy 9.x. Additionally, the Intelligence Server cannot be configured through the Configuration Wizard. Attempting to start the Intelligence Server process through Windows Services Administrator fails with the message: "Error 1067 process terminated unexpectedly".
 
CAUSE:
 
This issue occurs due to the corruption of the following registry key which saves information on the DSN used to connect to the metadata.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\MicroStrategy\Data Sources\CastorServer\Location

 
The value of this key is expected to be in the following format.

DSN=MiTutorialSQL_DSN;

 
When the key is corrupt, a value similar to the following can be observed.

DSN=MiTutorialSQL_DSN;localhost

 
ACTION:
Remove the additional parameters after the semi-colon (";"). For example, if the registry key value is

DSN=MiTutorialSQL_DSN;localhost

 
Change it to:

DSN=MiTutorialSQL_DSN;

KB424319