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I've found a few similar questions that asks this question but usually in the context of being able to look at the server or access the desktop. A few answers to this question mention how to do it remotely:

How do I tell if .NET 3.5 SP1 is installed?

But I'm not sure the answers are accurate or possible in my situation.

So TL;DR: whats a definitive way to determine not only the framework version and service packs, but also the windows server OS itself (im not even sure at this point), without having login access?

Explanation: I'm developing an intranet asp.net application that is hosted on a server I do not have access to. I can not remote desktop in. I don't have a login. The only thing I have access to is the virtual directory of my website's file system. Now, my site errors out when I add these assemblies:

<add assembly="System.Web.Entity, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=B77A5C561934E089"/>
    <add assembly="System.Data.Entity, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=B77A5C561934E089"/>

Research pointed to the fact that .net 3.5 service pack 1 must be installed on the web server to get those added assemblies.

I used this code, and this code, ran both in a webpage and the results come back showing the same thing: that framework 3.5 is installed without sp1.

So I emailed the IT group that runs the server and told them they didn't have sp1 installed. Well that caught some higher ups attention and there's some heat coming back from this email. The IT group then emailed back and said they actually have SP2 installed which would include all the SP1 stuff. I reran the tests and I get the same results. Which is worrisome, because if they didn't have it installed before, they sure would have tried installing it now... So I'm worried the code I'm using doesn't work, or doesn't detect if they have SP2 installed. My assemblies still aren't detected by the server.

I'm looking pretty bad at the moment and I'd want to apologize asap if I was wrong about this or really show they don't have it installed.

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RMuesi
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  • What I would do is ask the IT group to set up a screen sharing session with you so that you can look at the event logs together and determine why your application is failing. If that's not possible, coordinate with them and have them send you a copy of the error. All of you should be working together to solve the problem, not pointing fingers of blame at each other. – tvanfosson Jan 26 '13 at 18:48
  • The thing is, it's a pretty huge corporation and there a lot of layers, time, and effort required just to get these guys to make a simple change on their end. So setting up any sort of interaction is not an option. I also sometimes question the competence of the team since it took 3 months, many many emails, screenshots and googled links to show them how to set up an application pool to run .net 2.0 on the server. – RMuesi Jan 26 '13 at 18:57
  • Been there, done that. You need to work to develop those relationships so that you can work effectively. Starting off with an adversarial tone isn't going to help. Assume positive intent, that they want it to work as much as you do, and go from there. – tvanfosson Jan 26 '13 at 19:00
  • Yes, this is very good advice, and something I know I struggle with at times. But the issue remains which is they're saying SP2 is installed and I need to verify it is fairly quickly, as managers are assuming they are correct and a little bit PO'd I created this fuss. – RMuesi Jan 26 '13 at 19:04

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There is no SP2 for .NET 3.5, while there is an SP2 for .NET 3.0 and .NET 2.0, cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework_version_history and http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Search/en-US?query=.net%203.5%20sp2. It's not possible for them to have installed it. Unfortunately that leaves you back where you started; you need to try and develop a working relationship with the sysadmins so that you can move forward.

tvanfosson
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  • but there is a SP2 for windows server 2008: [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Server_2008#Service_Pack_2](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Server_2008#Service_Pack_2). So they probably think i'm talking about that one. – RMuesi Jan 26 '13 at 19:22
  • .NET 3.5 wasn't distributed with Windows Server until Windows Server 2008 R2. As far as I can tell from reading the release notes for Server 2008 SP2, it only includes hotfixes and rollups for .NET 2.0 and .NET 3.0. I can find no mention of them bundling .NET 3.5 with the service pack. – tvanfosson Jan 26 '13 at 19:37