How to update the .NET Framework?

When installing operating system update packages or when installing new software, you sometimes have to download files for the .NET Framework, but in some cases, failures occur. Let's try to figure out what kind of component it is and how to update the .NET Framework so that everything works like a clock.

What is the Microsoft .NET Framework?

The platform itself is present in any Windows system. Initially, it was developed by Microsoft specialists to create programs and applications, use secure means of communication and much more.

However, over time it has evolved into a universal tool that allows compatibility of programs written in different programming languages. Roughly speaking, if a certain application is not designed for operation in a Windows environment, when using the platform as a kind of middleman or bridge, the program will be able to start and run in full-function mode.

As for the update questions, by default the .NET Framework can only be updated manually, because even with the system update included, packages for this platform are not installed, and updates themselves mainly concern the protection and security systems. How to do this will be shown below.

Composition of service packs

The update of the Microsoft .NET Framework can be updated not only by program modules, but also by the main components of the development environment. In this case, in case of new opportunities or support for additional structures, their installation will also be carried out.

In the list of updates most often you can observe the improvement of the following components:

• CLR (improved performance of multi-core processors, recognition of new types of files and numeric data, facilitated debugging in mixed mode, including dumps and mini dumps).
• Visual Basic and C + / ++ (working with implicit line continuations, new operators, dynamic dispatching).
• Simulation and simplified data access (WCF services and the Entity Framework composite platform).
• ASP.NET extensions (management of HTML and CSS identifiers, dynamic data components, templates, filters, web forms based on the AJAX library).
• Composite WFP modules (multi-touch input, flexible scalability, SDK support, visual representation).
• Windows Workflow (support of processes and projects, modeling styles).
• WCF (programming actions based on correlation, workflow performance).
• Parallel programming (TPL library, PLINQ queries), etc.

The full list can be found on the official website of the corporation.

How to update the .NET Framework to 4.0: the initial conditions

Now directly about the update. Microsoft .NET Framework can only be updated if the system fully meets certain initial conditions. It must necessarily include a Windows Installer version no lower than 3.1, as well as an Internet Explorer browser version 5.01 and higher.

In the event that there are no such components in the system, first of all you will have to update them, and only after that install updates for the entire platform as a whole. In addition, a prerequisite is the availability of the latest updates and service packs for the operating systems themselves.

If for some reason they were not installed in the automatic mode, in the "Update Center" you should specify a manual search, and integrate the found components into the system.

How to update the .NET Framework 4.5: System Requirements

When installing updates, you should also pay attention to the system configuration and the availability of free disk space.

Supported operating systems from XP to 10 and the architecture of x86, x64 and ia64 (some components are not available or not supported). The minimum configuration should include a processor with a clock speed of 1 GHz or higher, 512 MB of RAM or more, and about 850 MB of free disk space for 32-bit systems (or 2 GB for 64-bit architecture).

Update Process

Sometimes during the installation of some applications, a message is displayed that, in order to work correctly, the .NET Framework needs to be updated (Windows 7 is used or any other supported system, not important). And here it is worth paying attention to one interesting fact. The fact is that installing a new version of the update process as such has nothing to do. Simply install a new version of the platform. In this case, the installer first deletes the old modification, and only then starts the installation of the new version.

Sometimes, before installing a hotly updated version, it may be necessary to remove the previous modification manually (this mainly applies to Windows XP).

The .NET Framework can only be updated if you download the installation from the official Microsoft website (from other sources, it is better not to take it, as this may be an incomplete version of the functionality, also infected with viruses and malicious codes). In extreme cases, before running the installer or unpacking the archive containing it, you need to check the files with an antivirus scanner.

After downloading the file, it remains to run it as administrator and wait for the installation process to complete.

Possible update issues and solutions

However, despite the simplicity of the update process, installation may cause problems. Most often it concerns version 4.0. The installer displays a message stating that the installation was not completed.

You can, of course, reboot the computer system and try to reinstall the installation, but in most cases the effect is zero. Therefore, the .NET Framework can be updated with the following problems.

Run the command line (cmd) from the "Run" menu (Win + R), register in the net stop WuAuServ console. After that, find the folder Software Distribution in the root directory of the system (C: \ Windows) and rename it, for example, in SDold.

Then, at the command prompt, type net WuAuServ start and repeat the installation. In 99.9% of cases, this technique completely eliminates the problem.

Instead of the total

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in the .NET Framework update. The main thing is to take into account the system requirements for computers for its correct functioning, to install the latest updates for the "operating system" itself and pay attention to the installed version if the package was downloaded from another source than from an official resource. In the event of errors or malfunctions, the described technique gives almost 100% guarantee of correction of the situation.