Microsoft .Net Framework

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bill Ridgeway
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Bill Ridgeway

I have installed -
Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1
Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2
Microsoft .Net Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2
Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1

I am looking at uninstalling redundant software and I don't know what they
do or whether or not I actually need them. Any advice please?

Bill Ridgeway
 
Bill said:
I have installed -
Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1
Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2
Microsoft .Net Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2
Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1

I am looking at uninstalling redundant software and I don't know what they
do or whether or not I actually need them. Any advice please?
Click to expand...

Those are not different versions of the same .Net Framework. They are
separate programs. You need all of them if you have applications installed
that were built using the different .Net Frameworks. In that case, if you
uninstall .Net, the program using it will stop working.

If you are that cramped for hard drive space it's time to buy a bigger hard
drive, either for the main operating system or for storage. External hard
drives are also a good choice for moving pictures, music, large data files
off the main hard drive.

Malke
 
If you have an application that uses/needs .NET 1.1 then 2.0 and 3.0 are not
to be considered supersets or replacements for .NET 1.x
So if you where to delete version 1.1 then there is a good chance
the application that requires .NET 1.1 will fail. The same is true for later
versions.

Each version of .NET is usually installed along with the application that
requires it, so if you have all three or four versions, then chances are
that somewhere along the way you installed at a minimum 3 or 4
applications, with each of those applications requiring and installing
it's own version of .NET
 
Thanks JS. You wrote <<> Each version of .NET is usually installed along
with the application that requires it.>> I distinctly recall installing
Microsoft. Net Framework V2 and others as an optional download from the
Microsoft update site. Thought at the time it may be useful. I'm
reasonably sure that this was overkill and now I'm looking to uninstalling
redundant software just as a tidying up exercise. The problem is I don't
know if any subsequently installed software may need any of the versions of
..NET which is why (coming back to my original question) I was looking at
identifying what may need them. One way would be to uninstall all versions
of .NET and see what doesn't work but that's a bit extreme. Is there an
easy way?

Bill Ridgeway
 
The only thing I can think of is to look at the software
application requirements, though some products don't
always mention it requires .NET

You could uninstall each version of .NET starting from
the highest version (Hotfixes first) then the specific version
of .NET (Example: .NET 3.5 SP1). But as you said this
could be a long a tedious process. Also not that using
Add/Remove to delete a version still leaves a lot of files
on your PC.

Uninstalling .NET Framework:
After installing all the versions of .NET I decided to uninstall each
version until all versions were removed. If you uninstall .NET you must
start with the highest version install on your PC and then work your way
down to the lowest version number.

In this test I started by uninstalling version 3.5 and finished with 1.0.
Note that the hotfix for version1.1 must be removed "after" uninstalling
version 1.1

Aaron Stebner's .NET Framework Cleanup Tool
http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/pages/8904493.aspx
"This .NET Framework cleanup tool is designed to automatically perform a set
of steps to remove selected versions of the .NET Framework from a computer.
It will remove files, directories, registry keys and values and Windows
Installer product registration information for the .NET Framework. The tool
is intended primarily to return your system to a known (relatively clean)
state in case you are encountering .NET Framework installation,
uninstallation, repair or patching errors so that you can try to install
again."

I used this tool after using the Windows Control Panel's Add or Remove
Programs uninstall option. After using the tool only a few folders and files
still remained, so I deleted these manually.

For more information see:
http://www.pagestart.com/windowsxptips.html
 
Thanks JS. You wrote said:
is usually
installed along with the application that
requires it.>>
I distinctly recall installing Microsoft. Net
Framework
V2 and others as an optional download from the
Microsoft
update site. Thought at the time it may be
useful. I'm
reasonably sure that this was overkill and now
I'm
looking to uninstalling redundant software just
as a
tidying up exercise. The problem is I don't
know if any
subsequently installed software may need any of
the
versions of .NET which is why (coming back to my
original
question) I was looking at identifying what may
need
them. One way would be to uninstall all
versions of .NET
and see what doesn't work but that's a bit
extreme. Is
there an easy way?
Bill Ridgeway
Click to expand...


Safest way, IMO:

Try just renaming the filenames to something like
fname_OLD.whatever the TLD was. e.g., just add
OLD or something easy to spot to the end or
beginning of the filename.

Then go about your daily work, or exercise
everything you can think of on your machine to see
if it works OK. If a program fails that needs the
framework, it will almost certainly tell you so in
the error message, and usually also details which
one it is that you need.

If nothing shows up after a week or so, then
delete them, or if you're a little paranoid, copy
them to a CD/DVD and then delete them. That way
you can get them back easily if they're on
CD/DVDs, just in case you missed what it is that
needs them.

HTH

Twayne
 
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