Installing the .NET Framework

Updated: March 2011

The .NET Framework version 4 redistributable packages are available in two profiles: Full Profile and Client Profile. To choose the proper profile, see .NET Framework Client Profile.

Both profiles provide two types of packages for redistribution:

• Stand-alone executable packages, which contain the required components for deployment, but do not contain language packs.

• Web bootstrapper packages, which download the required components and appropriate language pack from the Web.

This topic provides information about these packages, language packs, and installation requirements. It contains the following sections:

• Stand-Alone Redistributable Packages

• Web Bootstrapper Packages

• Installation Requirements

• Stand-Alone Language Packs

• Supported Languages

Applications and controls written for the .NET Framework require the .NET Framework to be installed on the computer where the application or control runs. For step-by-step instructions for deploying the .NET Framework 4 and its system dependencies across a network, see .NET Framework Deployment Guide for Administrators. For information about deploying the .NET Framework 4 with an application, see .NET Framework Deployment Guide for Developers.

Stand-Alone Redistributable Packages

The stand-alone executable packages contain all the components that are required to install the .NET Framework 4 on the specified target platforms. However, these executables do not contain language packs. You can use the stand-alone language packs to install language support.

The following table lists the stand-alone redistributable packages for each profile and platform.

The dotNetFx40_Full_x86_64.exe and dotNetFx40_Client_x86_64.exe packages are designed for both x86 and x64 computers. These are the recommended packages for most installation or deployment scenarios. However, these packages do not support IA-64-based computers.

Use the dotNetFx40_Full_x86.exe or dotNetFx40_Client_x86.exe package if you plan to install the .NET Framework 4 only on x86 computers. Do not use these packages for installation on 64-bit operating systems. (The Client Profile package is not available for redistribution on IA-64-based computers.)

Web Bootstrapper Packages

The Web bootstrapper packages are Web-based installers that simplify the installation process. These lightweight files download the required components from the Web during setup. Each package requires an Internet connection and detects, downloads, and installs required components and the language pack that matches the language of the user’s operating system. You can use the stand-alone language packs to install additional language support.

The following table lists the Web bootstrapper packages for each profile.

Using the Web bootstrapper, you can manually launch and install the redistributable package on a computer. The redistributable can also be launched and installed as part of the setup program for a .NET Framework 4 application.

Installation Requirements

The following is a summary of the software and hardware requirements for installing the .NET Framework 4. For a detailed description of the requirements, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Software Requirements

To install the .NET Framework 4, one of the following operating systems must be installed on the target computer:

• Windows 7 family.

• Windows Server 2008 R2 family.

• Windows Vista family.

• Windows Server 2008 family.

• Windows XP Home or Microsoft Windows XP Professional, both with Service Pack 3 or later.

• Windows 2003 family with Service Pack 2 or later.

For Windows Server 2003, you must also install Windows Imaging Component (WIC) on the target computer:

• 32-bit Windows Imaging Component

• 64-bit Windows Imaging Component

Hardware Requirements

Stand-Alone Language Packs

The following table provides a list of stand-alone language pack executable files that contain the localized resources for the specified target platforms. These executables do not contain the language-neutral binaries that are required to install the .NET Framework 4 language packs. culture specifies a supported language.

Some examples of these packages are dotNetFx40LP_Full_x86_x64de.exe (for the German - Germany culture) and dotNetFx40LP_Full_x86_x64ja.exe (for the Japanese culture).

Supported Languages

See Also

Concepts

.NET Framework Deployment Guide for Developers

.NET Framework Deployment Guide for Administrators

Change History