Installing the .NET Framework
Updated: March 2011
The .NET Framework version 4 redistributable packages are available in two profiles: Full Profile and Client Profile. To choose the proper profile, see .NET Framework Client Profile.
Both profiles provide two types of packages for redistribution:
Stand-alone executable packages, which contain the required components for deployment, but do not contain language packs.
Web bootstrapper packages, which download the required components and appropriate language pack from the Web.
Note
An update to the .NET Framework 4 is now available. This update is also included in Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1).
This topic provides information about these packages, language packs, and installation requirements. It contains the following sections:
Stand-Alone Redistributable Packages
Web Bootstrapper Packages
Installation Requirements
Stand-Alone Language Packs
Supported Languages
Applications and controls written for the .NET Framework require the .NET Framework to be installed on the computer where the application or control runs. For step-by-step instructions for deploying the .NET Framework 4 and its system dependencies across a network, see .NET Framework Deployment Guide for Administrators. For information about deploying the .NET Framework 4 with an application, see .NET Framework Deployment Guide for Developers.
Note
You must have administrator privileges to install the .NET Framework 4.
Stand-Alone Redistributable Packages
The stand-alone executable packages contain all the components that are required to install the .NET Framework 4 on the specified target platforms. However, these executables do not contain language packs. You can use the stand-alone language packs to install language support.
The following table lists the stand-alone redistributable packages for each profile and platform.
Stand-alone package |
EXE name |
Profile |
Target platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
.NET Framework 4 for x86 and x64 |
Full |
x86 and x64 |
|
.NET Framework 4 for x86 and IA-64 |
Full |
x86 and IA-64 |
|
.NET Framework 4 for x86 |
Full |
x86 only |
|
.NET Framework 4 Client Profile for x86 and x64 |
Client |
x86 and x64 |
|
.NET Framework 4 Client Profile for x86 |
Client |
x86 only |
The dotNetFx40_Full_x86_64.exe and dotNetFx40_Client_x86_64.exe packages are designed for both x86 and x64 computers. These are the recommended packages for most installation or deployment scenarios. However, these packages do not support IA-64-based computers.
Use the dotNetFx40_Full_x86.exe or dotNetFx40_Client_x86.exe package if you plan to install the .NET Framework 4 only on x86 computers. Do not use these packages for installation on 64-bit operating systems. (The Client Profile package is not available for redistribution on IA-64-based computers.)
Web Bootstrapper Packages
The Web bootstrapper packages are Web-based installers that simplify the installation process. These lightweight files download the required components from the Web during setup. Each package requires an Internet connection and detects, downloads, and installs required components and the language pack that matches the language of the user’s operating system. You can use the stand-alone language packs to install additional language support.
The following table lists the Web bootstrapper packages for each profile.
Bootstrapper package |
EXE name |
Profile |
Target platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
.NET Framework 4 |
Full |
All CPUs |
|
.NET Framework 4 Client Profile |
Client |
x86 and x64 |
Using the Web bootstrapper, you can manually launch and install the redistributable package on a computer. The redistributable can also be launched and installed as part of the setup program for a .NET Framework 4 application.
Installation Requirements
The following is a summary of the software and hardware requirements for installing the .NET Framework 4. For a detailed description of the requirements, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Software Requirements
To install the .NET Framework 4, one of the following operating systems must be installed on the target computer:
Windows 7 family.
Windows Server 2008 R2 family.
Windows Vista family.
Windows Server 2008 family.
Windows XP Home or Microsoft Windows XP Professional, both with Service Pack 3 or later.
Windows 2003 family with Service Pack 2 or later.
For Windows Server 2003, you must also install Windows Imaging Component (WIC) on the target computer:
Hardware Requirements
Requirement |
Recommended minimum |
|---|---|
CPU |
Pentium 1 GHz or higher |
RAM |
512 MB or more |
Disk space for Client Profile |
32-bit system: 600 MB 64-bit system: 1.5 GB |
Disk space for Full Profile |
32-bit system: 850 MB 64-bit system: 2 GB |
Stand-Alone Language Packs
The following table provides a list of stand-alone language pack executable files that contain the localized resources for the specified target platforms. These executables do not contain the language-neutral binaries that are required to install the .NET Framework 4 language packs. culture specifies a supported language.
Package Name |
Profile |
Target platforms |
|---|---|---|
dotNetFx40LP_Full_x86_x64<culture>.exe |
Full |
x86 and x64 |
dotNetFx40LP_Full_x86_ia64<culture>.exe |
Full |
x86 and IA-64 |
dotNetFx40LP_Full_x86<culture>.exe |
Full |
x86 only |
dotNetFx40LP_Client_x86_x64<culture>.exe |
Client |
x86 and x64 |
dotNetFx40LP_Client_x86<culture>.exe |
Client |
x86 only |
Note
The Client Profile language packs are not available for IA-64-based computers.
Some examples of these packages are dotNetFx40LP_Full_x86_x64de.exe (for the German - Germany culture) and dotNetFx40LP_Full_x86_x64ja.exe (for the Japanese culture).
Supported Languages
LCID |
Language – country/region |
Culture |
|---|---|---|
1025 |
Arabic - Saudi Arabia |
ar |
1028 |
Chinese - Taiwan |
zh-cht |
1029 |
Czech |
cs |
1030 |
Danish |
da |
1031 |
German - Germany |
de |
1032 |
Greek |
el |
1033 |
English - United States |
Not available |
1035 |
Finnish |
fi |
1036 |
French - France |
fr |
1037 |
Hebrew |
he |
1038 |
Hungarian |
hu |
1040 |
Italian - Italy |
it |
1041 |
Japanese |
ja |
1042 |
Korean |
ko |
1043 |
Dutch - Netherlands |
nl |
1044 |
Norwegian (Bokmål) |
no |
1045 |
Polish |
pl |
1046 |
Portuguese - Brazil |
pt-BR |
1049 |
Russian |
ru |
1053 |
Swedish |
sv |
1055 |
Turkish |
tr |
2052 |
Chinese - People's Republic of China |
zh-chs |
2070 |
Portuguese - Portugal |
pt-PT |
3082 |
Spanish - Spain (Modern Sort) |
es |
See Also
Concepts
.NET Framework Deployment Guide for Developers
.NET Framework Deployment Guide for Administrators
Change History
Date |
History |
Reason |
|---|---|---|
|
March 2011 |
Added a link to the .NET Framework 4 update. |
Information enhancement. |