Summary

This article illustrates one approach in determining what Microsoft .NET Framework version is installed on a user's system.

Synopsis

This article illustrates one approach in determining what Microsoft .NET Framework version is installed on a user's system using InstallShield. Also, it describes how to determine whether service packs are installed for your .NET Framework installation.

Discussion

The most accurate way to find whether a certain version of .NET framework is installed on the target system is to view or query the registry for values under a specific key path. Microsoft places all .NET related keys under the following subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP

All of the .NET versions that are installed are listed under this NDP subkey and the exact version number is listed as in the value name Version.

NOTE: For .NET 4, the Version value name is under the Full or Client subkey under NDP.

NOTE: For .NET 4.5, the path is under the v4\Full under subkey NDP. There is a value name Release that indicate the exact version of .NET 4.5 or newer that is installed.

Additional Information

For more information, refer to the following Microsoft Learn article: How to: Determine which .NET Framework versions are installed