6 Ways to Check Which Versions of .NET Framework Are Installed

Text Source

#INSTALLED #FRAMEWORK #NET #ARE #VERSIONS #WHICH #CHECK #WAYS

6 Ways to Check Which Versions of .NET Framework Are Installed

The Microsoft .NET Framework is an important feature of the modern Windows operating system. It provides developers with a ready-made collection of code that Microsoft maintains. Most of the time, you have no direct dealings with .NET Framework. However, that’s not always the case. At times, you need to know the specific version of the .NET Framework installed on your system.

Here are six ways you can find out which versions of .NET Framework are installed on your version of Windows.

There are three methods you can use to find out your .NET Framework version for versions 4.5 and later. “But Gavin,” I hear you say, “I’m doing this to find out which version I have, I don’t know if it is version 4.5 or not.”

You are exactly right. Checking for the .NET Framework version only takes a moment. You can quickly establish if you have .NET Framework version 4.5 or later. If you don’t, you can safely assume that you have an earlier version installed, or no .NET Framework version at all (which is highly unlikely).

You can find the .NET Framework versions installed on your system in the registry. (What is the Windows Registry, anyway?)

In the right-hand panel, check for a DWORD entry named Release. If the Release DWORD exists, you have .NET Framework 4.5 or a later version.

The Release DWORD data contains a value relating to the specific .NET Framework version. For instance, in the image below, the Release DWORD has a value of 461814. That means my system has .NET Framework 4.7.2 installed. Check the table below for your Release DWORD value.

You can cross-check the DWORD value against the value table below to find out the exact .NET Framework version on your system.

Type command into your Start Menu search bar, right-click the Best Match and select Run as Administrator.

Type powershell into your Start Menu search bar, right-click the Best Match and select Run as Administrator.

Get-ChildItem 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full\' |  Get-ItemPropertyValue -Name Release | Foreach-Object { $_ -ge 394802 } The command above returns True if the .NET Framework version is 4.6.2 or higher. Otherwise, it returns False. You can use the .NET Framework DWORD value table above to swap out the last six digits of the command for a different version. Check out my example:

The first command confirms that version 4.6.2 is present. The second confirms that version 4.7.2 is present. However, the third command checks for version 4.8, which I don’t have installed yet as the Windows 10 May Update hasn’t arrived on my system. Still, you get the gist of how the PowerShell command works with the DWORD value table.

You can find out which old .NET Framework versions are installed on your system using the registry. The Registry Editor holds all the answers.

There are a couple of tools you can use to find the .NET Framework version on your system automatically. However, they’re not updated frequently, which is why knowing the manual method is handy, too.

The Raymondcc .NET Detector is one of the fastest and easiest detection tools to use. You download the folder, extract it, then run the executable. When the program runs, it shows a list of .NET Framework versions. The versions in black are installed on your system, while the gray versions are not. If you click on a grayed-out .NET Framework version, the program takes you to the installer.

The ASoft .NET Version Detector works very similarly to the Raymondcc .NET Detector. Once you download and extract the program, run the executable. The program shows a list of currently installed .NET Framework versions. It also provides download links for those versions you do not have.

It isn’t always necessary to check your .NET Framework version. Many programs will check the version before installing and tell you if there is a program. Others will install the necessary version before commencing the installation, saving you the job of finding out the correct version and the hassle of downloading.

Still, it is always handy to know how to find the .NET Framework version manually. Want to find out more about the .NET Framework? Here’s why you need it and how you install it on Windows 10

You either need to install or update it. But do you know what the .NET Framework is? We show you why you need it and how you can get the latest version.