Ken Blake said:
Yes, if you run programs that need those versions.
No. One does not replace the others.
Actually, I believe the 3.x framework can replace the 2.0 framework since
the underlying assemblies for the 3.x framework belong to the 2.0 framework.
I recently installed the 3.5 framework (I had not yet installed the 3.0
framework) and looking in the installation folders
(C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.0 and
C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5) I see that they contain no
assemblies from the 2.0 framework. Those assemblies remain in the
C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727 folder.
There's a nice image for the 3.5 framework architecture. Note the 2.0
underlying framework.
http://guy.dotnet-expertise.com/PermaLink,guid,b9fcc958-079d-4523-9dbd-38bdcd9b40a2.aspx
And on MSDN: Relationship of the .NET Framework Versions 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb822049(VS.90).aspx
As long as you're patched, you should be able to safely keep the 1.x
frameworks (and 2, 3, 3.5) on your system without any issues. There were a
few security fixes (in the 1.x frameworks) so do make sure you stay up to
date with your system patches and service packs.
Jim