InstallShield Prerequisites for .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 on Windows 7 and Later, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Later

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Summary

This prerequisite enables the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Windows feature on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2016 systems.

Synopsis

A new InstallShield prerequisite called Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (Windows Feature) is now available. This prerequisite enables the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Windows feature on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2016 systems.

You can add this InstallShield prerequisite to InstallShield 2012 Spring projects, as well projects in earlier versions of InstallShield.

This InstallShield prerequisite is included by default in InstallShield 2013 and later.

Discussion

On the latest versions of Windows systems, the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is a Windows feature that can be turned on or off. Different default behavior exists on these platforms:

• On Windows 7 systems, the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 feature is installed and enabled by default.
• On Windows Server 2008 R2 systems, the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 feature is installed but disabled by default.
• On Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Server 2012/R2 systems, the .NET Framework 3.5. feature is disabled by default. In addition, the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 files may not even be installed. Many systems can install these files automatically through Windows Update.

You can include the new Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (Windows Feature) prerequisite in your installation if you are targeting any of the aforementioned operating systems and your product requires the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. The run-time results vary, depending on the target system's operating system:

• On Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 systems, this InstallShield prerequisite turns on the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 feature.
• On Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Server 2012/R2 systems, the InstallShield prerequisite attempts to turn on the .NET Framework 3.5 feature. Note that if the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 files are not installed, Windows Update attempts to download the required files. If Windows Update cannot download the files (for example, if the target system does not have an Internet connection), the installation displays an error message box, and the prerequisite fails.

To obtain the new prerequisite and add it to the machine on which you are using versions of InstallShield or the Standalone Build prior to InstallShield 2013:

1. If InstallShield is running, close it.
2. Download the following files to your machine that has InstallShield:
   
   Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (Windows Feature).prq
   Helper.exe
   
   Important Note: To download the updated .prq file, right-click on the download link above and select the "Save Target As" option. Then update the file extension to .prq and change the "Save As Type" to "All Files". If having trouble downloading the file from the above link, please click on the alternate download link in the "Attachments" section below.
   
3. Place the .prq file in the folder that contains your InstallShield prerequisite files (.prq):
   InstallShield Program Files Folder\SetupPrerequisites
4. Place the Helper.exe file in the following directory:
   InstallShield Program Files Folder\SetupPrerequisites\Microsoft .net\3.5 SP1\Dism
   You may need to create one or more of the folders in this path.

Once you have added the files to your machine, you can add the new InstallShield prerequisite to Advanced UI, Basic MSI, Express, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI, and Suite/Advanced UI projects.

Additional Information

This new InstallShield prerequisite resolves issue IOA-000073897. Future versions of InstallShield will include this InstallShield prerequisite.

InstallShield includes separate InstallShield prerequisites that install the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 redistributable on earlier versions of Windows, such as Windows Vista and earlier and Windows Server 2008 and earlier (that is, versions on which the framework is not a Windows feature). The names of these prerequisites are:

• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (Web Download)