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What are the requirements for all .NET frameworks and their service packs? This is what I need to know for all available frameworks:

  1. .NET Framework prerequisites
    What other .NET Frameworks does it require?
    For example: .NET Framework 2.0 does not require anything, .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 requires .NET Framework 2.0 installed, but .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 does not require .NET Framework 3.5 installed (or maybe does? dunno)

  2. Reboot requirements
    Does the installation package require reboot after installation?

  3. Clean install requirements
    Does the installation package require clean install? (No pending delete/rename operations)

  4. Administrator privileges
    Does the installation package require administrator privileges to install? (I guess this is "yes" for all of them...)

And I need to know all of this for the following packages:

  1. .NET Framework 1.1
  2. .NET Framework 1.1 Language Pack
  3. .NET Framework 1.1 SP 1
  4. .NET Framework 2.0
  5. .NET Framework 2.0 Language Pack
  6. .NET Framework 2.0 SP 1
  7. .NET Framework 2.0 SP 1 Language Pack
  8. .NET Framework 2.0 SP 2
  9. .NET Framework 2.0 SP 2 Language Pack
  10. .NET Framework 3.5
  11. .NET Framework 3.5 Language Pack
  12. .NET Framework 3.5 SP 1
  13. .NET Framework 3.5 SP 1 Language Pack
  14. .NET Framework 4.0 Full
  15. .NET Framework 4.0 Client

Could you please either tell me all of these requirements, or direct me to the appropriate source? Or maybe both? :-)

UPDATE

Is there any other way to determine the specified requirements other than just trying to install all packages and trying to figure it out? Because I haven't really found anything helpful in already published answers.

For all those down-voters: Can you show me where in the published links in answers can I find if .NET 2.0 SP2 needs .NET 2.0 already installed, or if it installs it automatically? Because it is the main topic of this question.

Helpful resources

Generic .NET Framework prerequisites
Language pack LCIDs
List of Windows versions (Determine Windows Version and Edition)

Paya
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  • Why are you trying to install *all* versions? Just install one, the one that your app is built against. The bootstrapper takes care of everything so you don't have to. – Hans Passant Jan 01 '11 at 14:25
  • I'm not trying to install all versions. I'm writing setup script, which will install the .NET Framework you need, you just select what version you need. There are already scripts for this - but they miss stuff I need. – Paya Jan 01 '11 at 14:44
  • By the way, I've tested that .NET 1.1 SP1 needs .NET 1.1 already installed, so the bootstrapper apparently doesn't take care of everything. – Paya Jan 01 '11 at 14:49
  • @Paja: if .NET 2.0 SP2 is the main goal of the question, then why ask about all the others? Also, maybe you should share with us what it is that the existing installers miss? Because it seems unlikely that everyone who uses those installers needs to know this information, don't you think? – John Saunders Jan 03 '11 at 20:18
  • @John Saunders: Not only .NET 2.0 SP2, but other service packs as well + LPs. I explicitly said .NET 2.0 SP2 because it seemed to me nobody really understands what I'm asking about. It looks like everyone thinks I need to know OS requirements and IE/MSI requirements, but I stated I already know these. I thought these 4 points I've included are concrete enough nobody can really misunderstand the question. – Paya Jan 03 '11 at 20:48
  • @John Saunders: I use Inno Setup, and there is no official method how to detect/install .NET in that environment. There are some scripts on CodeProject which I use, and what they lack is part of this question (for example: do I need to install .NET 2.0 to isntall .NET 2.0 SP2?). Of course I could just first try to install .NET 2.0 and after that install .NET 2.0 SP2, but that could result in some unnecessary downloads, which I really want to avoid. – Paya Jan 03 '11 at 20:52
  • @Paja: then perhaps, instead of asking for this list of information, you should instead ask for a general way to use InnoSetup to install .NET code, including the correct versions of the Framework. You might find a better way to do it. – John Saunders Jan 04 '11 at 01:24
  • @John Saunders: Do you know any better way? I think I generally need to know SPs prerequisites to be able to install them... And I haven't really found any code that would deal with this problem in a way I prefer (no unnecessary downloads). – Paya Jan 05 '11 at 17:10
  • @Paja: Have you tried a Visual Studio setup package? They understand the concept of prerequisites. InstallShield as well. In general, you're not the first person to have these questions - others have already answered them for you. Find them and use what they know rather than learning it for yourself. – John Saunders Jan 05 '11 at 17:13
  • @John Saunders: So you suggest I should use a completely different (commercial) Setup product just to get .NET installed on client machines? Or am I supposed to reverse-engineer their product to determine how to install .NET? You say others have already answered my questions for me ... that's why I've asked here on SO, so they can simply tell me these answers. I've googled like crazy and found nothing - only system requirements, but nothing really related to the questions I've asked. – Paya Jan 06 '11 at 00:06
  • @Paja: the Visual Studio setup projects are part of visual studio. And, yes, some of the people who know the answers to this ask you to pay for that information. Dealing with complicated sets of prerequisites across a potentially large and potentially diverse set of clients makes that worth the money. – John Saunders Jan 06 '11 at 00:09
  • @John Saunders: Yet there is no guarantee they just don't try to install .NET 2.0 and after that .NET 2.0 SP2, ignoring there could be some unnecessary downloads. I'm not really willing to pay hundreds of bucks just to effectively install .NET, I can solve this problem already, it's just not the best solution - that's why I've asked this question, to find the best solution. And I thought that's the purpose of this forum - if you don't know something, come and ask! – Paya Jan 06 '11 at 13:03
  • @Paja: my answer is, "don't re-invent the wheel when you can go buy one" – John Saunders Jan 06 '11 at 15:30

2 Answers2

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abatishchev
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  • Interesting links, but I haven't really found answer to any of my questions in them... It just says what OS/IE/MSI it needs (I already know that). Where can I read whether .NET 1.1 SP1 needs .NET 1.1 already installed, or if it is included in the SP package? If it needs reboot, clean install, or admin privileges? It's more like I just need to try it to figure it out... – Paya Jan 01 '11 at 14:41
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As it turned out, the only way how I could get the info I need is just to manually install/uninstall all the frameworks to try all combinations (combinations which make sense) to determine the prerequisites. I will update this answer continuously as I find more info.

Ad 1, 2:

If .NET Framework 1.0 is removed, installing only .NET Framework 1.1 also provides the system support for version 1.0, except in rare instances where an application will not run because it checks the version number of a library. [4]

  1. .NET Framework 1.1
    • Does not require any other .NET Framework installed
    • In my experiments, reboot was not required
    • Provides system support for .NET Framework 1.0 as well (source)
  2. .NET Framework 1.1 Language Pack
    • Requires .NET Framework 1.1 installed
    • In my experiments, reboot was not required
  3. .NET Framework 1.1 SP 1
    • Requires .NET Framework 1.1 installed
    • In my experiments, reboot was required
  4. .NET Framework 2.0
    • .NET 2.0 without any Service Pack is the last version with support for Win98 and WinME
  5. .NET Framework 2.0 SP 2
    • Last version with official support for Win2000
    • Requires Win2000 SP4 (plus KB835732 or KB891861 update), WinXP SP2 or later
    • Shipped with Windows Server 2003 R2 (not installed by default)
  6. .NET Framework 3.0
    • Shipped with Windows Vista
  7. .NET Framework 3.5
    • Installs .NET 2.0 SP1 and .NET 3.0 SP1 as well
  8. .NET Framework 3.5 SP 1 (express install)
    • Does not require any .NET Framework installed
    • In my experiments, reboot was not required
    • Shipped with Win7
    • Installs .NET 2.0 SP2 and .NET 3.0 SP2 as well

Ad 2: Reboot requirements are generally determined by installation package's exit code 3010. I always install the packages silently and with /norestart when appropriate - don't know if the exit code is different with different parameters.

Ad 3: No installation package required clean install.

Ad 4: All installation packages require administrator privileges, because they install in WINDOWS directory.

Additional prerequisites

  1. Windows Installer 3.1
    • Does not require any .NET Framework installed
    • In my experiments, reboot was required
  2. WMI
    • Preinstalled in Windows 2000 and newer OSs
    • Available as a download for Windows NT, Win95 and Win98.
Paya
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