How to fix .NET Framework install errors that ask for tmpXXXX.tmp

I have heard from several customers who have had problems trying to repair the .NET Framework or install a .NET Framework service pack and saw an error dialog asking for the source location for tmpXXXX.tmp. I wanted to try to explain why this can happen and also describe a way that I normally recommend to fix this issue.

Why does this happen?

The .NET Framework hotfix setup wrapper creates patch files on the fly in the %temp% directory that are named tmpXXXX.tmp (where XXXX is a randomly generated ending), and then deletes the file after applying the patch. When attempting to install any .NET Framework hotfix or repair the .NET Framework, Windows Installer will perform a component health check. If any of the components installed as part of the patch have been damaged/deleted, Windows Installer will trigger a repair and search for the files in the original install location. In this case, the original install location does not exist because it was deleted from %temp%.

How can I workaround this?

I posted a complete set of steps that you can use to clean up your system and reinstall the .NET Framework at https://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2008/03/07/8108332.aspx. 

<update date="5/6/2011"> Removing the old instructions in this post and pointing to updated steps. </update>

Comments

• Anonymous
  September 17, 2005
  Hey are we related??? I am Kassandra Stebner. Is your family lineage Russian?

• Anonymous
  September 19, 2005
  It is possible that we're related. I think part of my family history traces back to Russia though I'm not 100% sure. My family in the USA is all from Michigan.
  
  

• Anonymous
  September 20, 2005
  I have a problem, which I hope can be solved through the use of this utility.
  
  Here's a little background. Several years ago, I modified the net.msi file in that I basically prevented User interaction via the interface by turning off the SetupCompleteSuccess dialog (0 condition).
  
  We initially did this for 1.0 then the 1.1 upgrade. Everything appeared fine, but we've recently run into a problem.
  
  Someone was installing some third party software, which attempts to install Dotnetfx.exe v 1.1 and we get a 1316 error. It can’t find a tmp or certain file. I believe it indicates a network error.
  
  I was hoping I could use this utility to clean this up, then reinstall 1.1.
  
  I believe I saw mention of having to reinstall other service packs if they were present. So, I should plan on installing 1.1 SP 1 as part of this process as well.
  
  I’m hoping I could fire this sequence off and have it run without too much user interaction with the utility itself. I won’t mess with the interface of 1.1 and the Service Pack again.
  
  Any information, tips would be GREATLY appreciated.
  
  Thanks Much
  
  Matt
  mwalker@carpartstechnologies.com
  

• Anonymous
  September 20, 2005
  Hi Matt - I'm not sure why you would be seeing 1316 errors in that scenario, that means "A network error occurred while attempting to read from the file: [2]"
  
  If you are trying to clean up in order to reinstall .NET Framework 1.1, you should be able to uninstall just the main .NET Framework 1.1 package and that should remove any service packs you have installed on your machine automatically. For .NET 1.1 you can run msiexec /x {CB2F7EDD-9D1F-43C1-90FC-4F52EAE172A1} /qb! to run an unattended uninstall that doesn't require or allow any user interaction.
  
  Then you can run the following to reinstall the .NET Framework 1.1 in unattended mode:
  
  dotnetfx.exe /q:a /c:"install.exe /qb /l"
  
  Can you try that out and let me know if it works for you?
  

• Anonymous
  November 07, 2005
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  November 09, 2005
  Hi Old Bob - you can definitely use this cleanup tool on your XP Home SP2 machine. This is the same tool our customer support team uses when they get calls about the .NET Framework not working correctly. The tool will attempt to use the normal uninstall method first and then do some manual removal steps, so you don't need to run the uninstall yourself beforehand.
  
  Hope this helps. Please contact me at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/contact.aspx if you run into any issues.
  
  

• Anonymous
  November 09, 2005
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  November 09, 2005
  Hi Old Bob - The cleanup tool does attempt to run msizap already, but in some cases, it will fail to run if this tmpXXXX.tmp error dialog appears first. You can use the 5 steps listed at the top of this blog post to workaround that failure. Those steps will remove .NET Framework 1.1 and walk you through reinstalling .NET Framework 1.1 and then installing .NET Framework 1.1 SP1. After doing that you'll be able to install KB886903 also.
  
  I would not recommend not updating the .NET Framework 1.1 because there have been some security fixes in 1.1 SP1 and in KB886903.
  
  If you cannot get the steps listed above to work, please contact me at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/contact.aspx and I can try to help further.
  
  

• Anonymous
  November 22, 2005
  Thank You Aaron!! What a wonderful thing to have someone stick with you to resolve an issue. If you have NetFramework issues try this fix and you too I bet will be pleasantly surprised.
  Old Bob

• Anonymous
  December 22, 2005
  Thank you so much for this tool.

• Anonymous
  May 24, 2006
  Where'd the tool go?

• Anonymous
  May 25, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 28, 2008
  PingBack from http://jtango.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/installing-net-35-beta-2-%e2%80%93-fatal-error-1603-1714/

• Anonymous
  October 28, 2008
  PingBack from http://jtango.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/installing-net-35-beta-2-%e2%80%93-fatal-error-1603-1714/

• Anonymous
  November 15, 2008
  Hello Sir, I was trying to install .Net framework 3.0 but was getting errors. After wasting lots of time on various possible solutions, I came across your blog and then tried to uninstall all installed versions of .Net framework. But .NET Framework cleanup tool didn't uninstall any version. I'm using Windows Server 2003 SP2. What am I doing wrong?

• Anonymous
  November 16, 2008
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  November 25, 2008
  Sir, I'm sorry for my late reply. Thanks a lot for your response. I'd installed .Net Framework 2.0 and the tool had removed it but hadn't removed .Net Framework 1.1.

• Anonymous
  January 22, 2009
  PingBack from http://www.hilpers.it/2680871-net-framework-1-1-sp1

• Anonymous
  March 19, 2009
  I previously described a set of steps in this blog post that can be used to manually remove the .NET

• Anonymous
  October 09, 2010
  About 1/8 the way of setup, it stops and deletes all the installed files.. How i fix?

• Anonymous
  October 09, 2010
  Hi Bubbla - What version of the .NET Framework are you trying to install when you see this problem?  Can you please use the tool described at blogs.msdn.com/.../6458047.aspx to gather your .NET Framework setup log files, upload the file named %temp%vslogs.cab that this tool creates to a file server such as http://skydrive.live.com, and then reply back here with a link to your log files so I can download them and use them to investigate further?

• Anonymous
  May 26, 2014
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  May 27, 2014
  Hi introuble - Can you please use the tool described at blogs.msdn.com/.../6458047.aspx to collect all of your setup log files, upload the file named %temp%vslogs.cab that this tool will create to a file server (such as http://onedrive.live.com), and then reply back here and provide a link that I can use to download your log files and take a closer look? Also, if you haven't yet, I'd suggest trying to install the latest update for the .NET Framework 4.  It is the .NET Framework 4.5.2, and you can download it from www.microsoft.com/.../details.aspx.