Check which .NET Framework versions are installed

Have you ever asked how to check which .NET Framework versions are installed on your machine? You want to know if the right .NET Framework version is installed before installing Cumulative Update (CU) for Exchange Server. Otherwise, you need to install it first before starting with the CU. In this article, you will learn how to find and check the .NET Framework versions.

Check .NET Framework version with Registry Editor

Start Registry Editor on your Exchange Server. Go to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full

If the Full subkey isn’t present, you don’t have the .NET Framework 4.5 or later installed.

Check for a DWORD entry named Release. If it exists, then you have .NET Framework 4.5 or later installed. Its value is a release key that corresponds to a particular version of the .NET Framework. In the following figure, for example, the value of the Release entry is 528049. The release key for .NET Framework 4.8 is 528040. It means that the system is running .NET Framework 4.8.

To determine whether a minimum version of the .NET Framework is present, use the smallest RELEASE DWORD value for that version. See the table list below.

Check .NET Framework version with PowerShell

Run PowerShell as administrator. Run the following command.

PS C:\> (Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full").Release
528049

See the table list below to determine which .NET Framework version is installed.

Examples .NET Framework version

If your application runs under .NET Framework 4.8 or a later version, look for a RELEASE DWORD value greater than or equal to 528040.

If your application runs under .NET Framework 4.7.2 or a later version, look for a RELEASE DWORD value greater than or equal to 461808.

List with the latest .NET Framework versions

Here is a list with the latest .NET Framework versions:

.NET Framework version	Minimum value of the Release DWORD
.NET Framework 4.5	378389
.NET Framework 4.5.1	378675
.NET Framework 4.5.2	379893
.NET Framework 4.6	393295
.NET Framework 4.6.1	394254
.NET Framework 4.6.2	394802
.NET Framework 4.7	460798
.NET Framework 4.7.1	461308
.NET Framework 4.7.2	461808
.NET Framework 4.8	528040

Articles that you may be interested in:

• Which .NET Framework for Exchange Server
• Update .NET Framework in Exchange Server

Conclusion

You learned how to check which .NET Framework versions are installed on your machine. It’s essential to check the .NET Framework versions before installing Exchange Server. It is also necessary to check before you install Exchange Cumulative Update. I hope this article was informative to you. Microsoft has written a document about how to check .NET Framework versions.

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