[RESOLVED] Microsoft .NET Framework

[Nightwalker83]

Hi,

I currently have:

Microsoft Framework 1.0
Microsoft Framework 1.1
Microsoft Framework 2.0 (Service Pack 1)
Microsoft Framework 3.0 (Service Pack 1)

Installed on my laptop! I am currently trying to figure which programs/files to remove because the laptop in running extremely slow! Yes, I know I can upgrade RAM, Hard drive, etc but my laptop is 3 years old and was only built to run Windows XP.

My question is: As mentioned above I have Microsoft Framework 3.0 (Service Pack 1) installed, do I still need the other versions?

Thanks,


Nightwalker

[Siddharth Rout]

Ah! I have faced this problem...

You can Keep 1.1 and 3.0 and remove the 2.0. This is strange because if you installed 3.0 than you shouldn't be needing 1.1 or 2.0 but unfortunately there are some programs which will not run if 1.1 is not installed inpiste of your laptop having 3.0... it's really weird...

[Nightwalker83]

Ah! I have faced this problem...

You can Keep 1.1 and 3.0 and remove the 2.0. This is strange because if you installed 3.0 than you shouldn't be needing 1.1 or 2.0 but unfortunately there are some programs which will not run if 1.1 is not installed inpiste of your laptop having 3.0... it's really weird...

Ah ok! I guess 1.0 can also be deleted too unless 1.1 contains some different code to 1.0?

[vbcode1980]

While you're at it, why not upgrade 3.0 to 3.5?

[chris128]

I've never actually found that uninstalling unused programs helps speed up your computer... but good luck anyway Like others have said, keep 1.1 and 3/3.5 and get rid of the others

[dee-u]

Guys, are you sure it is safe to remove the 2.0 when one already has 3.5?

[chris128]

To be honest I didnt even think you could have them both installed at the same time, I thought installing 3.5 upgraded it

[vbcode1980]

Guys, are you sure it is safe to remove the 2.0 when one already has 3.5?

If might break ASP.NET websites you're running on the machine.

If they're set to use .NET Framework 2.0, they might not work if you remove it, until you set them to use 3.5.

According to Microsoft 3.5 builds incrementally on 3.0, which is built incrementally on 2.0.

[JuggaloBrotha]

To remove .Net 2.0 you first need to remove .Net 3.0 because 3.0 requires the 2.0 CLR to run.

Also to remove 3.0 you need to remove 3.5 first.

Besides all that, why remove any version of .Net in the first place?

[gep13]

Hey,

It has always been my understanding that 3.0 and 3.5 builds on top of 2.0, i.e. you can't remove 2.0. I would be interested to know if this wasn't the case.

I currently have all the frameworks installed 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5.

Gary

[chris128]

so if you just take RTM XP and install .NET 3.5 then will you see .NET 2 in the programs list as well?

[JuggaloBrotha]

Hey,

It has always been my understanding that 3.0 and 3.5 builds on top of 2.0, i.e. you can't remove 2.0. I would be interested to know if this wasn't the case.

I currently have all the frameworks installed 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5.

Gary

That is the case, the frameworks can be removed you just need to start with removing 3.5 then 3.0 then 2.0

[gep13]

Well for instance, .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 actually upgrades .Net Framework 2.0 to SP2, so I assumed that it must also install 2.0.

I could be completely off the mark but I have always thought of 3.0 and 3.5 as additions, not stand alone frameworks.

Gary

[stanav]

Installing the .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 will automatically install 2.0 SP2 and 3.0 SP2, since the 2.0 is the prerequisite for 3.0 and then the 3.0 is the prerequisite for 3.5. And Microsoft has recently categorized .Net framework 3.5 SP1 as critical update.
The 1.1 framework is still a separate installation.

[Nightwalker83]

While you're at it, why not upgrade 3.0 to 3.5?

I might! However, I can't remember why I installed the others in the place since I don't use VB.NET, etc.
I can't even remember what they do?

Edit:

I found this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework) on Wikipedia:

The Microsoft .NET Framework is a software framework that is available with several Microsoft Windows operating systems. It includes a large library of coded solutions to prevent common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework. The .NET Framework is a key Microsoft offering and is intended to be used by most new applications created for the Windows platform.

The coded solutions that form the framework's Base Class Library cover a large range of programming needs in a number of areas, including user interface, data access, database connectivity, cryptography, web application development, numeric algorithms, and network communications. The class library is used by programmers, who combine it with their own code to produce applications.

Programs written for the .NET Framework execute in a software environment that manages the program's runtime requirements. Also part of the .NET Framework, this runtime environment is known as the Common Language Runtime (CLR). The CLR provides the appearance of an application virtual machine so that programmers need not consider the capabilities of the specific CPU that will execute the program. The CLR also provides other important services such as security, memory management, and exception handling. The class library and the CLR together compose the .NET Framework.

Version 3.0 of the .NET Framework is included with Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. The current version of the framework can also be installed on Windows XP and the Windows Server 2003 family of operating systems.[2] A reduced "Compact" version of the .NET Framework is also available on Windows Mobile platforms, including smartphones.

[stanav]

All programs written using .net languages (vb.net, c#, j#...) require the .net framework installed on the client computer to run. It's just like program written in Java needs to have the Java runtime environment installed, or programs written in classic VB requires the VB runtime. Evveryday, more and more programs are being written/rewritten using .net languages, and if you have a need to use one of these programs, you will need to install .net framwork. For example, TurboTax 2008 in written in .net 2.0, thus its requires .net 2.0 framework. You don't have to be a .net programmer to take advantage of the .net framework. I really recommend you to install all the currently available .net frameworks. It doesn't hurt even if you don't need them now.

[Nightwalker83]

I really recommend you to install all the currently available .net frameworks. It doesn't hurt even if you don't need them now.

Yeah, I'll do that on my pc where I have a 1TB hard drive! It's just that on my laptop I have one hard drive partitioned in to two (26.1 GB each volume). I currently only have around 8.75GB left on my "C" (system) drive and was wondering what programs on my laptop still use the Microsoft .NET Framework files I have installed. My dad said that should have at least 10GB left for on hard drive so Windows XP can function properly.


Edit:

Windows wouldn't allow me to uninstall "Microsoft Framework 2.0 (Service Pack 1)" because programs that use it wouldn't run correctly. However, I was allow to uninstall "Microsoft Framework 3.0 (Service Pack 1)". Is there any easier way to monitor which Framework is in use?

Edit:

I have now uninstalled both Framework 2.0 and 3.0 now that I have read post #9.

[gep13]

Hey,

In total, all the .Net Frameworks on my system only takes up around 400MB, so in the grand scheme of things, this may not be enough in order to clear out your system. One thing you may want to look into is clearing out the installation files left via windows updates. You can see these in your C:\Windows folder, they normally appear in blue and are called something like $NtUninstall... If you are not planning on uninstalling any patches or hotfixes, then you can delete these folders. You can find out more about them here:

http://www.askdavetaylor.com/can_i_d...uninstall.html

Gary

[Nightwalker83]

@ gep 13,

Yeah, I noticed that it might be the installation/temp files taking up most of the room on the hard drive. After I uninstalled the Framework the amount of free space only went up to around 9.68GB.

Edit:

Well, I guess I can resolve this thread seeing as removing the framework doesn't have a great effect on hard drive space. Even removing the hotfixes on the system doesn't have a great effect on the hard drive space.

[gep13]

Hey,

The only other thing to suggest would be to go through your add/remove program's list and uninstall anything that you are no longer using. Another thing would be to empty your temporary internet files.

Failing that, use something like WinDirStat which provides a treemap visualisation of your hard drive so that you can identify where the majority of your hard drive space is being used.

Hope that helps!!

Gary

[dee-u]

Another suggestion is to remove all your old restore points excluding the last one, this has freed me a few gigs. And another one is just to create another thread that queries suggestions on how to free up disk space! =)

[Nightwalker83]

@ gep13,

I have been removing programs I no longer need! Most of the programs on my laptop now are office, Dream Weaver CS3, Flash CS3 plus the add-on that Microsoft installs for different programs.

I did notice that a few of the entries in the add/remove didn't have the size listed! Dream Weaver and Flash were two of those.

What are the blue files/folders listed in WinDirStat? Are those the files to delete?

@ dee-u

I checked and there are only 8 restore points on my computer in the last two months.

[dee-u]

I always restore to the last restore point when something is going awry with my OS so I don't put much value with the other restore points. Didn't check how many restore points I had but removing them has gained me at least more than 4GB of disk space!

[gep13]

Hey,

WinDirStat will not tell you which files you should delete, but rather it gives you a treemap that tell you which folders are occupying the most space on your hard drive, from there, you can work out what, if anything, you can delete.

Gary

[Nightwalker83]

Ah ok, then I should go ahead and delete the "Files" directory since it is coloured "blue". It probably contains the installation you mentioned above.

Edit:

I deleted the contents of the "Installers" directory in the "Windows" directory. I'm assuming this directory is where Windows stores the backup install files when it installs programs. However, it doesn't remove the install files afterwards.

I have installed Microsoft Framework 3.5 (Service Pack 1) on my pc!