All, I am aware of the following methods to check the framework version in NSIS. For .NET4.0+ I currently use
Function IsDotNetInstalled
StrCpy $0 "0"
StrCpy $1 "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework" ; Registry entry to look in.
StrCpy $2 0
StartEnum:
; Enumerate the versions installed.
EnumRegKey $3 HKLM "$1\policy" $2
; If we don't find any versions installed, it's not here.
StrCmp $3 "" noDotNet notEmpty
; We found something.
notEmpty:
; Find out if the RegKey starts with 'v'.
; If it doesn't, goto the next key.
StrCpy $4 $3 1 0
StrCmp $4 "v" +1 goNext
StrCpy $4 $3 1 1
; It starts with 'v'. Now check to see how the installed major version
; relates to our required major version.
; If it's equal check the minor version, if it's greater,
; we found a good RegKey.
IntCmp $4 ${DOT_MAJOR} +1 goNext yesDotNetReg
; Check the minor version. If it's equal or greater to our requested
; version then we're good.
StrCpy $4 $3 1 3
IntCmp $4 ${DOT_MINOR} yesDotNetReg goNext yesDotNetReg
goNext:
; Go to the next RegKey.
IntOp $2 $2 + 1
goto StartEnum
yesDotNetReg:
; Now that we've found a good RegKey, let's make sure it's actually
; installed by getting the install path and checking to see if the
; mscorlib.dll exists.
EnumRegValue $2 HKLM "$1\policy\$3" 0
; $2 should equal whatever comes after the major and minor versions
; (ie, v1.1.4322)
StrCmp $2 "" noDotNet
ReadRegStr $4 HKLM $1 "InstallRoot"
; Hopefully the install root isn't empty.
StrCmp $4 "" noDotNet
; Build the actuall directory path to mscorlib.dll.
StrCpy $4 "$4$3.$2\mscorlib.dll"
IfFileExists $4 yesDotNet noDotNet
noDotNet:
; No, something went wrong along the way. Looks like the
; proper .NET Framework isn't installed.
MessageBox MB_ICONEXCLAMATION "To install UserCost, Microsoft's .NET Framework v${DOT_MAJOR}.${DOT_MINOR} \
(or higher) must be installed. Cannot proceed with the installation!"
${OpenURL} "${WWW_MS_DOTNET4}"
Abort
yesDotNet:
; Everything checks out. Proceed with the rest of the installation.
FunctionEnd
This works very well for .NET4.0, but I have now extended my application to utilise the async
/await
features and subsequently need users to install .NET4.5+. The above method is not suitable as the installation for .NET4.5 now does not use the regestry path 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft.NETFramework\Policy" to store any new information, that is that path does not seem to hold a value that changes between .NET4.0 and 4.5. Now I have seen the following posts:
NSIS Installer with .NET 4.5
which uses the registry path/entry 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP' to do the checks. Now this also does bot work as the entry does not change from .NET4.0 to 4.5. I notice that there is and entry called 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft.NETFramework\v4.0.30319\SKUs.NETFramework,Version=v4.5' can I use this to check the Framework version invariably?
Is there an offical line of the way to check for .NET4.5 using NSIS?
Thanks for your time.
Note: subsequently some installation of .NET4.5 my users have performed have had registry values for
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full
a DWORD value named Release
was not 378389
but 378181
. Making this change seemed to resolve the problem as the entry for the Release
is not in the registry for .NET4.5 and below.
Yes there is an official way to check if .NET Framework 4.5 is installed, even if it's not really friendly. From MSDN:
You can test whether the .NET Framework 4.5 or the .NET Framework 4 is installed by checking the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full
subkey in the registry for a DWORD
value named Release
. The existence of this DWORD
indicates that the .NET Framework 4.5 has been installed on that computer. The value of Release is a version number. To determine if the final release version of the .NET Framework 4.5 is installed, check for a value that is equal to or greater than 378389.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh925568.aspx
It means you first have to check if 4.0 is installed and then to check if there is a value named Release
in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full
, if so then 4.5 is already installed (I think you can skip the check for a pre-release version).
EDIT: check this post here on SO for details about detecting older installed .NET versions and this MSDN article to distinguish between for 4.5.x versions.
Here is a function that I wrote that checks for, and downloads if needed, .NET 4.5. In addition, the code also looks for a local copy of the .NET installer - in case you were to put your installer onto a CD or USB drive or something. Supports Silent and Non-Silent installs, as well as setting the Reboot flag. The function is self-contained, but expects you to include LogicLib (which is included with the basic NSIS install).
This is the code that I wrote for what will be the installer for my Rachel's Story books.
Function CheckAndDownloadDotNet45
# Let's see if the user has the .NET Framework 4.5 installed on their system or not
# Remember: you need Vista SP2 or 7 SP1. It is built in to Windows 8, and not needed
# In case you're wondering, running this code on Windows 8 will correctly return is_equal
# or is_greater (maybe Microsoft releases .NET 4.5 SP1 for example)
# Set up our Variables
Var /GLOBAL dotNET45IsThere
Var /GLOBAL dotNET_CMD_LINE
Var /GLOBAL EXIT_CODE
ReadRegDWORD $dotNET45IsThere HKLM "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full" "Release"
IntCmp $dotNET45IsThere 378389 is_equal is_less is_greater
is_equal:
Goto done_compare_not_needed
is_greater:
# Useful if, for example, Microsoft releases .NET 4.5 SP1
# We want to be able to simply skip install since it's not
# needed on this system
Goto done_compare_not_needed
is_less:
Goto done_compare_needed
done_compare_needed:
#.NET Framework 4.5 install is *NEEDED*
# Microsoft Download Center EXE:
# Web Bootstrapper: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=225704
# Full Download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=225702
# Setup looks for components\dotNET45Full.exe relative to the install EXE location
# This allows the installer to be placed on a USB stick (for computers without internet connections)
# If the .NET Framework 4.5 installer is *NOT* found, Setup will connect to Microsoft's website
# and download it for you
# Reboot Required with these Exit Codes:
# 1641 or 3010
# Command Line Switches:
# /showrmui /passive /norestart
# Silent Command Line Switches:
# /q /norestart
# Let's see if the user is doing a Silent install or not
IfSilent is_quiet is_not_quiet
is_quiet:
StrCpy $dotNET_CMD_LINE "/q /norestart"
Goto LookForLocalFile
is_not_quiet:
StrCpy $dotNET_CMD_LINE "/showrmui /passive /norestart"
Goto LookForLocalFile
LookForLocalFile:
# Let's see if the user stored the Full Installer
IfFileExists "$EXEPATH\components\dotNET45Full.exe" do_local_install do_network_install
do_local_install:
# .NET Framework found on the local disk. Use this copy
ExecWait '"$EXEPATH\components\dotNET45Full.exe" $dotNET_CMD_LINE' $EXIT_CODE
Goto is_reboot_requested
# Now, let's Download the .NET
do_network_install:
Var /GLOBAL dotNetDidDownload
NSISdl::download "http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=225704" "$TEMP\dotNET45Web.exe" $dotNetDidDownload
StrCmp $dotNetDidDownload success fail
success:
ExecWait '"$TEMP\dotNET45Web.exe" $dotNET_CMD_LINE' $EXIT_CODE
Goto is_reboot_requested
fail:
MessageBox MB_OK|MB_ICONEXCLAMATION "Unable to download .NET Framework. ${PRODUCT_NAME} will be installed, but will not function without the Framework!"
Goto done_dotNET_function
# $EXIT_CODE contains the return codes. 1641 and 3010 means a Reboot has been requested
is_reboot_requested:
${If} $EXIT_CODE = 1641
${OrIf} $EXIT_CODE = 3010
SetRebootFlag true
${EndIf}
done_compare_not_needed:
# Done dotNET Install
Goto done_dotNET_function
#exit the function
done_dotNET_function:
FunctionEnd
In the end I went with the following function which utilises the answer above. This method first creates a directory "$INSTDIR\dotNETFramework"
which contains the .NET web installer:
Function CheckAndInstallDotNet
; Installer dotNetFx45_Full_setup.exe avalible from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/5a4x27ek.aspx
; Magic numbers from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee942965.aspx
ClearErrors
ReadRegDWORD $0 HKLM "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full" "Release"
IfErrors NotDetected
${If} $0 >= 378389
DetailPrint "Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 is installed ($0)"
${Else}
NotDetected:
MessageBox MB_YESNO|MB_ICONQUESTION ".NET Framework 4.5+ is required for ProgramX2013, \
do you want to launch the web installer? This requires a valid internet connection." IDYES InstallDotNet IDNO Cancel
Cancel:
MessageBox MB_ICONEXCLAMATION "To install ProgramX, Microsoft's .NET Framework v${DOT_MAJOR}.${DOT_MINOR} \
(or higher) must be installed. Cannot proceed with the installation!"
${OpenURL} "${WWW_MS_DOTNET4_5}"
RMDir /r "$INSTDIR"
SetOutPath "$PROGRAMFILES"
RMDir "$INSTDIR"
Abort
; Install .NET4.5.
InstallDotNet:
DetailPrint "Installing Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5"
SetDetailsPrint listonly
ExecWait '"$INSTDIR\dotNETFramework\dotNetFx45_Full_setup.exe" /passive /norestart' $0
${If} $0 == 3010
${OrIf} $0 == 1641
DetailPrint "Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 installer requested reboot."
SetRebootFlag true
${EndIf}
SetDetailsPrint lastused
DetailPrint "Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 installer returned $0"
${EndIf}
; Now remove the dotNETFramework directory and contents.
RMDir /r "$INSTDIR\dotNETFramework"
FunctionEnd
This method seemlessley launches the .NET4.5 installer if there is an internet connection and returns after the installation is complete.
I hope this helps someone else.
Here's a simple NSIS Function that checks for .NET versions (works for 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2 and 4.6). The numeric comparisons are based on MSDN.
Place the function in your NSIS file and invoke it like so
Call CheckForDotVersion45Up
Pop $0
DetailPrint $0
Here is the function.
; returns a numeric value on the stack, ranging from 0 to 450, 451, 452 or 460. 0 means nothing found, the other values mean at least that version
Function CheckForDotVersion45Up
ReadRegDWORD $0 HKLM "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full" Release
IntCmp $0 393295 is46 isbelow46 is46
isbelow46:
IntCmp $0 379893 is452 isbelow452 is452
isbelow452:
IntCmp $0 378675 is451 isbelow451 is451
isbelow451:
IntCmp $0 378389 is45 isbelow45 is45
isbelow45:
Push 0
Return
is46:
Push 460
Return
is452:
Push 452
Return
is451:
Push 451
Return
is45:
Push 45
Return
FunctionEnd
Now that .NET Framework 4.5.1 is available the actual value of DWORD named Release in the registry needs to be checked, not just its existence.
A value of 378758 means that .NET Framework 4.5.1 is installed, however, as described here this value is 378675 on Windows 8.1.
If you're looking for options with .net framework 4.0+ (and above) including
you can also check this plug-in for NSIS: DotNetChecker