Problem

The SQL Database server was updated to SP1 before PowerPivot was installed using the original (pre-SP1) media. This resulted in the installer failing saying that the version of sqlncli.msi (SQL Server 2008 R2 Native Client) on the installer was not correct.

Solution

Download Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2008 R2 if you haven’t already.

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26727

Extract the contents of the Service Pack to a folder by running the following command in command prompt.

<Name of Service Pack file>.exe  /x:<drive>:\<folder to extract to>

Run the command:

Setup.exe /PCUSource=<path to SP1 folder>

This will slipstream the SP1 files during the installation.

For more information, see:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd638062.aspx#Slipstream