Where is the .NET Framework Global Assembly Cache?

Question

I installed the VS2010 and .NET 4.0, then I compiled an assembly and ran the gacutil using the exe available on

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0A\Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools

The output of the executable said the assembly was sucessfully installed on Global Assembly Cache. However, when I go to %WINDIR%\assembly folder I cannot find the assembly I installed using the .NET Framework 4.0 gacutil.

I've seen some posts saying the .NET Framework 4.0 has a separated GAC, but what I haven't found was where it is located.

May someone to help me to check where can I see the Global Assembly Cache of .NET Framework, as it used to work on previous version (%WINDIR%\assembly)?

score 47 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:26

47

Yes, there are two distinct GACs as from .NET 4.0

See here: .NET 4.0 has a new GAC, why?

As stated below, the new physical location is %windir%\Microsoft.NET\assembly\ (you can interogate it using the dir command at a command prompt if you're interested).

It's worth noting that applications running up to the 2.0 CLR will not even be able to see assemblies in the new GAC.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:26

Community

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answered May 12 '10 at 22:15

David Neale

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Thanks for answering! It covered all my questions. – CARLOS LOTH May 12 '10 at 23:06

score 19 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 30 '16 at 14:30

19

Try:

%windir%\Microsoft.NET\assembly\

edited Jun 30 '16 at 14:30

Gonzalo.-

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answered May 12 '10 at 22:06

Jay Riggs

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Do you know if there is an extension to windows explorer to see the details of the assemblies, like public key token, just as the %windir%\assembly does? – CARLOS LOTH May 12 '10 at 22:10
@Carlos Loth - Sorry, I don't. – Jay Riggs May 12 '10 at 22:22
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Apparently the GAC viewer shell extension (shfusion.dll) has been discontinued for .NET 4.0, and no longer ships with the framework. On a machine with 3.5 and 4.0, I copied the Desktop.ini file from %windir%\assembly to %windir%\Microsoft.NET\assembly (after doing "attrib Desktop.ini -h -r -s" from a command prompt), but this still did not work, even in a new instance of Windows Explorer. – Simon Chadwick May 12 '10 at 23:35
How can I install .NET 4.0 assembly in the GAC ? gacutil fails for me... Failure adding assembly to the cache – Kiquenet Dec 14 '11 at 14:09

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 30 '22 at 07:56

Due to Common Language Runtime (CLR) changes, the contents of the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) is split between two directories:

%WINDIR%\assembly\
%WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\assembly\

If you run the command gacutil -l from the directory of your project's .csproj file, you will get a printout of the contents of the GAC (the contents of both directories).

Where is the .NET Framework Global Assembly Cache?

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