Micro$oft .NET Framework

[Avastfan1]

Dear Forum,

Which of the following can be safely uninstalled?

- Micro$oft .NET Framework 1.1
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 4 Extended

Thanks in advance!

Avastfan1

[DavidR]

Short answer none.

For me .net has been the single most biggest pain in the rear to come out of MS. It is an absolute monster which has frequent update installation problems (e.g. failed updates).

The problems being there doesn't appear to be any backward compatibility, e.g. if you had .net 4 you shouldn't need all the earlier ones, doesn't work like that.

Programs are designed for a specific version of of .net, so if you have a program that requires .net 1.0/1.1 then you need it. Finding out what programs actually need .net and then what version is needed is a nightmare.

If you install .net 3.0 or 3.5 I believe that installs .net 2.0 as it requires it.

As I said a nightmare.

[SpeedyPC]

I've been told directly by MS is leave them alone never uninstall any Microsoft .NET Framework on any OS version it very important to keep them as DavidR said "None"

[Avastfan1]

DavidR and Speedy once again providing informative, quick and easy-to-read advice!

What sort of programmes use .NET?

[YoKenny]

What sort of programmes use .NET?

See

Paint.NET is a proprietary freeware raster graphics editor program for Microsoft Windows, developed on the .NET Framework. Originally created by Rick Brewster as a Washington State University student project,[4] Paint.NET has evolved from a simple replacement for the Microsoft Paint program, which is included with Windows, into a powerful editor with support for layers, blending, transparency, and plugins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint.NET

It works great.

[Avastfan1]

Nice tip YoKenny!

[DavidR]

DavidR and Speedy once again providing informative, quick and easy-to-read advice!

What sort of programmes use .NET?

Problem is there really is no easy way to find out, the first time you are likely to know if a program requires .net (and what version) is when you try to install it and it reports you don't have .net (and probably also indicate what version) installed.

The range of programs that use it is just too varied and not one specific class/type of program. For instance I have a drive imaging backup software (drive Image 7.1 very old) that requires .net 1.0/1.1 and my anti spam (MailWasher Pro) that requires .net 3.5.

[Avastfan1]

Why do programmes actually use the Micro$oft .NET Framework?

[DavidR]

Now that is a question you will have to ask them.

I did of MailWasher Pro, what in h*ll does a 11MB anti-spam application need with .net (that requires over 400MB of downloads and installation), e.g what feature set does it bring to the table.

Their answer was easier development, so as far as I was concerned it brought nothing for the user only the developer. But they tried to counter that by saying most people already have .net installed for one reason or another. Me I was actively trying to avoid it like the plague as it is a pain in the rear to keep up to date (the devils spawn).

I guess you could say I don't like it

[Hard_ROCKER]

And the same with MS Visual C++, i absolutely hate having all those versions(and then the updates for each version as well) installed but it is necessary to keep all your programs working. Sux though, i would prefer just having the latest version installed and be done with it.

[Asyn]

Which of the following can be safely uninstalled?

- Micro$oft .NET Framework 1.1
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile
- Micro$oft .NET Framework 4 Extended

Well, it depends...
If you don't run any .NET related software, you can uninstall them all, but be careful, if you're not sure about it...!!
As Dave said in his initial reply, it can be a nightmare to figure out "who needs what".
Anyway, here's the .NET Framework Cleanup Tool, just in case anyone should need it.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2008/08/28/8904493.aspx

[SpeedyPC]

@Asyn I wouldn't even touch this tool with a 20 foot pole sticking up your back size

[Asyn]

@Asyn I wouldn't even touch this tool with a 20 foot pole sticking up your back size

You sure don't have to.

[Dch48]

There are a lot of things that require the .NET framework or at least one of it's flavors. The ATI/AMD graphics drivers are one example. They require .NET 2.0 for the Catalyst Control Center to run. You used to be able to get away without installing the CCC, but now they've added the Catalyst Install manager which also requires .NET. 

My advice is to only have the versions installed that are needed by installed applications or those that are installed as part of your particular version of Windows. I do not have v4 for example because so far, nothing has told me that it needed it. I would agree that you should not uninstall any .NET versions that you have.

The Media Center portions of Windows also require .NET. Even the separate Media Center of XP required v 1.1. Only XP Home or Pro do not install nor need any form of .NET in a fresh install. XP media Center (1.1), Vista (3.5), and W7 (4.0) come with .NET embedded into the OS.

[Hard_ROCKER]

There are a lot of things that require the .NET framework or at least one of it's flavors. The ATI/AMD graphics drivers are one example. They require .NET 2.0 for the Catalyst Control Center to run. You used to be able to get away without installing the CCC, but now they've added the Catalyst Install manager which also requires .NET.
<snip>

Not sure how it is on XP or Vista but on Win 7 SP1 it's like this(it does not install .NET since it is installed by default on Win 7):