Now that you have fare idea of what .NET I and what it can do for you, it is time to install .NET framework SDK on your machine. Following sections will tell you everything you need to know for installing .NET framework.
Hardware Requirements
In order to install .NET framework SDK following hardware is required:
- Computer/Processor : Intel Pentium class, 133 megahertz (MHz) or higher
- Minimum RAM Requirements : 128 megabytes (MB) (256 MB or higher recommended)
- Hard Disk :
- Hard disk space required to install: 600 MB
- Hard disk space required: 370 MB
- Display : Video: 800x600, 256 colors
- Input Device : Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device
Software Requirements
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later is required
- Microsoft Data Access Components 2.6 is also required (Microsoft Data Access Components 2.7 is recommended)
- Operating System :
- Microsoft Windows® 2000, with the latest Windows service pack and critical updates available from the Microsoft Security Web page
- Microsoft Windows XP – (Microsoft Windows XP Professional if you want to run ASP.NET)
- Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0
Note: If you want to simply run .NET applications then you can also run them on Microsoft Windows XP Home edition, Windows Millennium Edition (Windows ME) and Windows 98.
Here are some URLs that you will find handy in making your system up-to-date for above software requirements.
Internet Explorer 9 can be downloaded from
Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 SP1 can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=5793
Various Windows service packs and patches can be obtained from http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/servicepack.aspx?q=download&fs=producttype~%255e%2522Service%2520Pack%2522%2524
Where to get .NET Framework SDK
As mentioned earlier .NET framework SDK is freely downloadable from MSDN site. Visit http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa569263 and download it now. The total download size is 137,363,456 bytes (approximately 131 Mb). For your convenience Microsoft has provided multi-part version of the entire download. If you are unable to download the SDK from MSDN web site, check out popular PC magazines around. Many of them contain .NET Framework SDK on their companion CD.
Starting the installation
Note: If you already have a previous version of .NET installed on the machine then it must first be uninstalled. Refer ReadMe files that ship with .NET framework SDK. These files contain valuable information related to installation, system requirements and trouble shooting.
In order to start the installation, you need to run the setup program that is available with the download mentioned above. A wizard will guide you with necessary process. It will also allow you to select various components of the framework. Service pack 1. The service pack fixes some of the bugs.
Installing Samples and Quick Start Tutorials
.NET framework comes with an excellent set of tutorials that help you learn various technologies such as ASP.NET and windows forms. In order to configure the tutorials follow Start menu -> Program -> Microsoft .NET Framework SDK -> Samples and Quick Start Tutorials. This will open up a HTML document that will guide you through the process of configuring the samples and tutorials.
Installing MSDE
.NET framework samples and quick start tutorials require a Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE). MSDE is scaled down version of SQL Server. The samples use databases from the MSDE. In order to work with the samples make sure you have started an instance of MSDE. You can use this MSDE for creating your own databases for testing applications.
