How can I detect when the .NET Framework feature is "turned off" in Windows 7 / Vista?

Posted by John Myczek on Stack Overflow See other posts from Stack Overflow or by John Myczek
Published on 2010-04-19T18:35:39Z Indexed on 2010/04/19 18:53 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 202

Filed under:

.net-3.5

|

installshield

|

c#

|

windows-7

|

windows-vista

My application requires the .NET Framework version 3.5. I recently ran into a customer that had the .NET Framework installed but turned off on Windows Vista (also applies to Windows 7).

In this case, my installer (InstallShield 2009) does not prompt the user to install the Framework (because it is already installed) and when my application runs it crashes immediately. I tried another .NET application and it also crashes immediately.

Is there any way to detect this situation and handle it more gracefully? Just detecting this during install is not ideal since the .NET Framework can be turned off at any time. Ideally, the application would be able to check and display a friendly message to the user telling them they need to turn on the .NET Framework.

EDIT: "Turning off" the .NET Framework in Windows Vista or Windows 7 is not the same as uninstalling it. The Framework can be simply turned back on without reinstalling: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Turn-Windows-features-on-or-off

© Stack Overflow or respective owner

Related posts about .net-3.5

Apt-Get Update: failure to fetch; can't connect to any sources

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I realize there are dozens of "apt-get update: failure to fetch" questions (I read through all I could find), but my present circumstance is unique to 12.04 and it affects all sources; not just launchpad. Additionally, I've tried several different servers in Europe and the U.S. as well as the "main… >>> More
12.04: Apt-Get Update: failure to fetch; can't connect to any sources

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I realize there are dozens of "apt-get update: failure to fetch" questions (I read through all I could find), but my present circumstance is unique to 12.04 and it affects all sources; not just launchpad. Additionally, I've tried several different servers in Europe and the U.S. as well as the "main… >>> More
What's New in ASP.NET 4

as seen on Geeks with Blogs - Search for 'Geeks with Blogs'
The .NET Framework version 4 includes enhancements for ASP.NET 4 in targeted areas. Visual Studio 2010 and Microsoft Visual Web Developer Express also include enhancements and new features for improved Web development. This document provides an overview of many of the new features that are included… >>> More
.NET Reflector 6, .NET Reflector Pro, TestDriven.NET, .NET 4.0 and Mono

as seen on Simple Talk - Search for 'Simple Talk'
By now you may well have noticed that .NET Reflector 6 and .NET Reflector Pro are out in the wild. The official launch happened today, although we actually put the software out last Thursday as part of a phased release plan to ensure that everything went smoothly today which, so far, it seems to have… >>> More
Redmine on Apache2 with Passenger issue

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I installed Redmine and run it in Apache2 with the Passenger module. Apache2 boots, Passenger module gets loaded and the Redmine welcome page is shown, however when trying to login or navigate to other parts of the Redmine site, the browser keeps loading and loading and loading forever, although the… >>> More

Related posts about installshield

Is InstallShield 2010 really necessary to support Windows 7 (against using InstallShield 12)

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I have received an e-mail from Flexera containing the following statement: "We understand that many of our customers still using InstallShield 12 maybe having difficulties sending installations to Windows 7 desktops, 64 Bit servers or R2 2008. Therefore we would like to provide this opportunity… >>> More
Building InstallShield based Installers using Team Build 2010

as seen on Geeks with Blogs - Search for 'Geeks with Blogs'
Last few weeks, I have been working on Application Packaging stuff using all the widely used tools like InstallShield, WISE, WiX and Visual Studio Installer. So, I thought it would be good to post about how to Build the Installers developed using these tools with Team Build 2010. This post will focus… >>> More
Installshield Development Error durring the Installation process

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hey guys, I've been stuck by a problem for the past couple days that makes no sense to me. My installer builds fine in the Installshiled IDE but when it is about to finish the installation, int gets two errors then rollbacks: installation failure. Right when the install bar is at about 100%, an… >>> More
InstallShield 2010 - 1603 Fatal Error [Windows Installer] (Windows 7 Only)

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hi all, I created an MSI InstalScript Project where i deploy a web based (ASP.NET) precompiled project copying the files during installation in the \inetpub\wwwroot\projectnamefolder, creating an AppPool and the virtual dir of course in the IIS. The setup works great in windows XP Pro (SP3 i used)… >>> More
InstallAware vs InstallShield vs Other

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Which is better? Has anyone used both? I would welcome any advice as we are trying to decide which one (or any other installer options) to purchase. >>> More