Aaron Ruckman's Web Log : WPF

.NET Framework 3.0 or 3.5 installation will fail if the Print Spooler is not running on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003

aaronru — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 03:32:00 GMT

One of the .NET Framework 3.0 or 3.5 prerequisite packages requires that the Print Spooler service is running in the "Started" State. If the Print Spooler Service is not running, the .NET Framework 3.0 or 3.5 installation will fail.

To resolve this issue

Start the Print Spooler service before you install the .NET Framework. To do this:

1.	Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Administrative Tools.
2.	Double-click Services, click to select Services (Local), right-click Print Spooler, and then click Properties.
3.	Click Start, and then click OK.

When I try to download .NET Framework 3.0 GOLD my computer says that this isn't a Windows 32 application.

aaronru — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:37:00 GMT

Commonly this is caused by the installation program you've downloaded to become corrupted in the download. By redownloading to either a different location you should be able to fix this issue.

Another common remedy for this issue is to download the redistributable package corresponding to your architecture:

To download the full redistributable package, rather than the bootstrapper, click the architecture you need below to start the download:

X86 Redist Package

X64 Redist Package

The redistributable might download more than you need, but is a single download. This is a preferred method if you do not worry about bandwidth, or if you want to put it on a secure location.

Be sure to Check Windows Update for any updates after you've installed the .NET Framework.

Will .NET Framework 3.0 run .NET Framework 2.0 apps?

aaronru — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 08:22:00 GMT

This is a common question on the .NET Framework Setup Forum.

Let me first answer this by YES!!! ABSOLUTELY!!! WE DESIGNED IT THAT WAY!!!!

Ok now that is out of the way, I would like to explain why. .NET Framework 3.0 is built on the .NET Framework 2.0 Libraries.

The following link is from MSDN Learning and explains in much more detail how this works.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa663309.aspx

Next I would like to reference the common Versioning Questions regarding the .NET Framework. MSDN also does a greate job of this:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa663314.aspx

From the above reference this is one of my favorite quotes:

Q: How does the .NET Framework 3.0 relate to the .NET Framework 2.0?

A: The .NET Framework 3.0 is an additive release to the .NET Framework 2.0. The .NET Framework 3.0 adds four new technologies to the .NET Framework 2.0: Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), and Windows CardSpace. There are no changes to the version of the .NET Framework 2.0 components included in the .NET Framework 3.0. This means that the millions of developers who use .NET today can use the skills they already have to start building .NET Framework 3.0 applications. It also means that applications that run on the .NET Framework 2.0 today will continue to run on the .NET Framework 3.0.

Q. Do i need to uninstall 3.0 in order for Visual Studio 2005 to compile 2.0 managed applications?

aaronru — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 19:11:00 GMT

A. Visual Studio 2005 will target your managed appliations as 2.0 by default. 3.0 adds to the 2.0 layer and is fully backwards compatible. For more information check out the following link:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa663309.aspx

If you want to compile 3.0 projects then you will need to install the extensions for WF and Extensions for WCF/WPF:

For a full list of .NET Framework 3.0 applications, including the extensions:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa904955.aspx