Windows – Do I need all Microsoft .NET Framework versions

.net frameworkwindows

I have 4 Microsoft .NET Framework versions:

  • 1.1
  • 2.0 Service Pack 2
  • 3.0 Service Pack 2
  • 3.5 SP1

Do I need them all?

Best Answer

There are 4 distinct versions of the .net framework.

  • .NET 1
  • .NET 1.1
  • .NET 2
  • .NET 4

All of those can be installed and uninstalled independently. This is where it starts to get interesting! .NET 3 was introduced (along with a service pack to .NET 2) and was an additional set of libraries to it. .NET 3.5 followed this trend (with a second service pack for .NET 2 and a service pack for .NET 3) and again required .NET 2 as it just extended it.

The latest release is entirely standalone and does not require previous versions. It is mostly backwards compatible so it is possible to get your old applications to work on it.

Whether you need any of them or not depends on what you're running. Most applications out there are still built for .NET 2 to 3.5 so installing 3.5 will cover you for that. I would recommend installing 4 as looking forwards that's what Microsoft want people to be using.

.NET 4.5 (and 4.5.1, 4.5.2) is an in-place update to .NET 4.

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