I've been having issues installing SQL Server 2005 tools (i.e., Management Studio) on Vista. I know it works because I was able to get it installed on my tablet also running Vista - I just couldn't get it on my desktop.
I thought it might be related to SQLEXPRESS installed as part of the VS.NET 2005 install, but that didn't seem to fix anything. As it turns out, this is related to a corrupt WMI repository - and the fix is quite easy.
C:\Windows\system32>winmgmt /verifyrepository
WMI repository is INCONSISTENT
C:\Windows\system32>winmgmt /salvagerepository
WMI repository salvage failed
Error code: 0x8007041B
Facility: Win32
Description: A stop control has been sent to a service that
other running services are dependent on.
C:\Windows\system32>winmgmt /salvagerepository
WMI repository has been salvaged
As you can see, I had to run it more than once - but it eventually fixed the problem. I clicked Retry and the install went through fine. Hope this saves time for anyone else running into the same issue.