[dba-SQLServer] SQL Installation is totally forked

[Arthur Fuller]

I don't know what I did or how I did it, but all my SQL Server
installations are completely forked. I tried to nuke the entire c:\Program
Files\Microsoft SQL Server directory, without success. I tried running the
Setup.exe for SQL 2014 and 2016, and in both cases, almost immediately I
get a msgbox that contains no message; its title says SQL Server Setup and
there is no message, just a red X in a circle. Thinking that the downloads
may have gone awry, I re-downloaded and made new DVDs, with the same result

I'm at my wits' end. Any suggestions?

A.

-- 
Arthur