The Microsoft .NET Framework was developed as a platform to make it easier and quicker for programmers to create applications and provides a common set of functions to help make this possible. A lot of PC users do not like .NET anywhere near their systems but with so much more software these days being developed using it, ignoring .NET completely is becoming increasingly difficult. Even thought it isn’t small to download or install, .NET isn’t exactly going to eat up all you hard drive space either and Raymond did some testing a while back to see whether version 4 of the framework would cause the system to slowdown at all.
Something that annoys me quite a bit about .NET these days is the shear amount of Windows updates there seem to be for it. Even if you install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 which has version 3.5 pre installed, probably a quarter (or maybe more) of the total updates needed to get the system patched and up to date are for .NET. What’s worse is you will install maybe 2 updates for .NET and when you check for updates again, there are another 8 for it. Check again and there are another 5 etc. etc. It’s pretty frustrating stuff. With the size and complexity of the .NET framework these days, it comes as no surprise that issues relating to the installation, updates or the running of the framework itself are not uncommon.
Microsoft themselves have a utility to help detect and repair some of the more common issues faced by users when there is a problem with updating or installing the .NET framework. The .NET Framework repair tool is designed specifically for .NET version 4 and can also attempt to repair corrupt installations including the language packs. It can be used on everything from XP Service Pack 3 up to Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and is a standalone executable.
The license terms screen informs you that the utility will collect various bits of information about your system and log any errors that were found. If you allow it later on, this information will be sent to Microsoft. Click ‘Next’ and it will run 9 different tests and analyse the system for .NET related problems.
After a few seconds, a window will present you with the findings and what fixes it suggests might help. The common generic recommendation is usually to reregister the Windows Installer service and then restart it which might help, and could even fix other problems related to the installer service almost by accident.
If you click ‘Next’ to apply the recommended fixes, the repairs will be applied and you will be presented with a screen telling you to try installing or updating .NET to see if the error you had still occurs. If the issue is resolved, click ‘Finish’. If the problem persists, click ‘Next’ and there will be the option to attempt a repair of the whole .NET framework.
As you might expect, this repair will take a few minutes to complete. Once done, the repair tool will have done everything it can to try and sort the problem. If it failed to resolve the issues, you can click ‘Next’ if you decide to send the collected information to Microsoft. If not, or.NET now functions properly, simply click ‘Finish’ or ‘Cancel’.
As the .NET framework is Microsoft’s creation they’re best placed to know what most of the problems related to updating or installing it actually are, or so you would hope. This is an easy to use tool that could help fix a number of the more common issues.
Compatible with Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 and Win 7
There is an update of the tool available: Version 2 supports the .NET Framework 4, the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, the .NET Framework 3.0 SP2, and the .NET Framework 2.0 SP2.
@HAL9000
Will any other repair/fix.. tool, let say anti-virus, try to “repair” something that doesn’t exist ? You run this tool to check on .net installation for problems, even if you are not aware that there are any, so , this “tool” ALWAYS will fix something that is not broken.
@ilev : Firstly, the tool will reregister the Windows installer service which isn’t part of .NET but is still a cause for many issues. If you still have problems, it will ‘reset’ .NET. It does tell you to try the fix IF you still have issues. As stated, the tool is in a large part used for fixing issues updating or installing the framework.
This is a bit like the repair option available in MS Office/av suites and many other software installations. You can still choose to repair it even if nothing’s broken.
Why only .NET 4? I currently have a problem with three updates for .NET 2 repeatedly being offered on one of my machines and alleged installed (they are NOT installed, incidentally, just creating temporary files only) and I can find no answer, having tried all offered solutions from forums, etc. Just for the record, they are KB2604092, KB 2656369 and KB2686828.
Thanks, Raymond, and don’t forget Aaron Stebner’s good ol’ tool:
blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Components-PostAttachments/00-08-90-44-93/dotnetfx_5F00_cleanup_5F00_tool.zip
Raymond
Why isn’t this “tool” detecting that there are no problems , yet trying to “fix” a well installed .NET ?
To really fix a broken .NET better use , as always, a third-party app like Portable NET Framework CleanUp Tool, and re-install .NET.
@ilev : As Raymond says, why would you want to run a .NET repair tool if you don’t have a problem with .NET in the first place? Isn’t that the point of this tool, you run it IF you have a problem, not for the fun of it…
Why are you attempting to fix something that is not broken in the first place?
It is a crap app and a hoax. It “fixes” a no-problem .NET too. The “tool” supports only .Net 4.