I recently posted a set of instructions for creating an administrative install point for the .NET Framework 2.0 SP1.  In that post, I mentioned some behind-the-scenes architectural changes that affect how the installer works.  Those architectural changes were also made for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1, and as a result, there is a new set of instructions that must be followed in order to create an administrative install point for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 as well.

The following are some steps that can be used to create an administrative install point for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 for each of the supported processor architectures.

Please keep in mind that there are several prerequisites that must be installed prior to attempting to deploy the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 from an administrative install point.  These include the .NET Framework 2.0 SP1, MSXML 6.0, the RGB Rasterizer, the Windows Imaging Component (WIC) and the XML Paper Specification (XPS) shared components.  The .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 can be deployed using the steps in my previous blog post, and the other prerequisites can be deployed using the previously documented steps in the .NET Framework 3.0 deployment guide.  There is a new .NET Framework 3.5 deployment guide that is currently in the process of being published that will include this type of information, and I will provide an additional link to that document once it is available on MSDN.

To create an administrative install point for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 x86:

1. Download the .NET Framework 3.5 full package from http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/0/f/60fc5854-3cb8-4892-b6db-bd4f42510f28/dotnetfx35.exe and save it to your local hard drive
2. Extract the contents of the setup package by running this command:
   
   dotnetfx35.exe /x:c:\netfx35
   
3. Stage the base MSI by running this command:
   
   msiexec /a "c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\netfx30a_x86.msi" TARGETDIR="c:\netfx30sp1\x86\AIP"
   
4. Apply the patches to the staged base MSI by running this command:
   
   msiexec /a "c:\netfx30sp1\x86\AIP\netfx30a_x86.msi" PATCH="c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WCF.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WCS.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WF.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF1.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF2.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF_Other.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\XPS.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WF_32.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF2_32.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF_Other_32.msp"

With these steps, you will have an administrative install point for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 x86 located at c:\netfx30sp1\x86AIP.  You can then install the MSI directly using a command line like the following:

msiexec.exe /i c:\netfx30sp1\x86\AIP\netfx30a_x86.msi /l*v %temp%\netfx30sp1x86log.txt /qb VSEXTUI=1

You can adjust the parameters as needed if you want a fully silent install instead of basic UI, or want to use any other standard Windows Installer command line parameters.

To create an administrative install point for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 x64:

1. Download the .NET Framework 3.5 full package from http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/0/f/60fc5854-3cb8-4892-b6db-bd4f42510f28/dotnetfx35.exe and save it to your local hard drive
   
2. Extract the contents of the setup package by running this command:
   
   dotnetfx35.exe /x:c:\netfx35
   
3. Stage the base MSI by running this command:
   
   msiexec /a "c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\netfx30a_x64.msi" TARGETDIR="c:\netfx30sp1\x64\AIP"
   
4. Apply the patches to the staged base MSI by running this command:
   
   msiexec /a "c:\netfx30sp1\x64\AIP\netfx30a_x64.msi" PATCH="c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WCF.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WCS.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WF.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF1.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF2.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF_Other.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\XPS.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WCF_64.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WCS_64.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WF_64.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF1_64.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF2_64.msp;c:\netfx35\wcu\dotnetframework\dotnetfx30\WPF_Other_64.msp"

With these steps, you will have an administrative install point for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 x64 located at c:\netfx30sp1\x64\AIP.  You can then install the MSI directly using a command line like the following:

msiexec.exe /i c:\netfx30sp1\x64\AIP\netfx30a_x64.msi /l*v %temp%\netfx30sp1x64log.txt /qb VSEXTUI=1

You can adjust the parameters as needed if you want a fully silent install instead of basic UI, or want to use any other standard Windows Installer command line parameters.

<update date="1/23/2008"> Added example command lines to install the MSI directly after creating the administrative install point. </update>