Questions with installing .NET
 

Hey all,

We've converted our app to .NET 2.0, and we're ready to release it to beta testers. But that means I need an installer. :) While researching what I need to do, I got confused, and figured it'd be best to get other opinions before I continue. My questions are these:

.NET 2.0 requires a Windows Installer 3.0 (for Windows 2000/XP/2003) or Windows Installer 2.0 (for Windows 98/ME). Should I bother checking and installing if users don't yet have the necessary Windows Installers? Or is it a save bet that virtually all computers in daily use now have those Windows Installer versions already installed?

Also, do I need to worry about x64 installations? For example, lets say some people are running an x64 version of Windows. If I install the x86 .NET 2.0 redistributable on their machine, will that cause problems?

See http://www.codeproject.com/managedcpp/dotnetsetup.asp and http://www.codeproject.com/install/dotNetInstaller.asp

This will install .NET 2.0 only if <2.0 is currently installed:

code:


System::Call `mscoree::GetCORVersion(w .R0, i ${NSIS_MAX_STRLEN}, *i) ?u`

StrCpy $R0 $R0 1 1

${If} $R0 < 2 # Less than v2.0?

  InitPluginsDir

  File /oname=$PLUGINSDIR\dotnetfx.exe dotnetfx.exe

  ExecWait `"$PLUGINSDIR\dotnetfx.exe" /q:a /c:"install.exe /noaspupgrade /q"` $R0

${EndIf}

Stu

Thanks for the reples as always. They were a helpful step in the right direction.

I also found my answer to the x64 .NET version. From Microsoft's x64 .NET framework download page.

"It contains both the 64-bit and 32-bit runtime in one convenient setup."

So, that means I can install a 32-bit runtime on a x64 machine, and be ok. At least...it better mean that. :)