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Deploy .Net (Dot Net) 4.5.1 via GPO

.Net sadly is used in the most random programs and as such becomes a boon when installing programs on the network after you realise its a prerequiste that isn't included with the installer you're dealing with. Luckily it's easy to get deployed on a network! ..not..

As per norm I have supplied the MSI+MST for download.


Needed:
.Net 4.5.1 Standalone Installer
InstEd
7-Zip

 

Direct EXEdownload link

.Net 4.5.1 Standalone Installer (66.8MB)
http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/7/167F0D79-9317-48AE-AEDB-17120579F8E2/NDP451-KB2858728-x86-x64-AllOS-ENU.exe

InstEd 1.5.15.26 (4.38MB)
http://www.instedit.com/download2.html?file=InstEd-1.5.15.26.msi

7-Zip 9.20 (1.07MB)
http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/sevenzip/7-Zip/9.20/7z920.msi

 

Transforms that need to be made:
CA_BlockDirectInstall = False


Steps:

First download and install 7-Zip. Then once the .Net 4.5.1 Offline installer .exe has been downloaded, right click on it, 7-Zip > Extract to 'C:\DotNet\'

With the extracted contents, run a CMD window and run this command:

msiexec /a "c:\DotNet\netfx_full_ldr_x86.msi" EXTUI=1 TARGETDIR="C:\AIP"

Make sure InstEd is installed, go to 'C:\AIP' and right click on 'NetFx_Full_LDR_x86.msi' and click 'InstEd It!'

In the menu of InstEd, click Transform > New Transform save the Transform as 'DotNet.mst' then open up the InstallExecuteSequence Table.

Edit “CA_BlockDirectInstall” to equal “False”, then in the Menu 'File' > 'Save'.

After this is done, copy all the contents of the 'AIP' folder to your deployment server's 'Dot Net' Folder. Sadly I havent been able to find a way around the MSIFileHash table to remove the localization lanuages so all the folders have to be copied...


Apply the Policy

Once that’s all done and you’ve generated/saved your Transform to the network shared "Dot Net" folder, load up Microsoft’s Group Policy Management console and right click on the Organisational Unit (OU) that you’ve added your network computers to and select “Create a GPO…”

Name the policy “Dot Net 4.5.1” or whatever you would like it to be named, then under: “Computer Configuration – Policies – Software Settings – Software Installation”

Right click in the right hand window, or on the software installation icon and choose “New… - Package”. Find the "Dot Net" folder you put on your server and select the .MSI and choose “Advanced” as the deployment method.

Once the panel opens up, go to the Modifications tab and select Add. Locate your 'DotNet.MST' Transform and click Ok. The package will now be loaded into MS GPO and you can exit out of the window as it is already saved.

 

Direct MSI+MST Download:

Dot NET 4.5.1 + MST (170.79MB):
http://www.mediafire.com/download/bzm8w3g2jkjn6a8/MS%20Dot%20Net%204.5.1.zip

 

Tips:

To find out what version of .NET is installed under Regedit check out “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP” the versions are listed as a subkey in the 'Version' entry. The 'Version' entry is under the Client or Full subkey (under NDP).


Comments

  • Thank you for this tutorial. I used it for just creating a basic msi + mst for silent deploying without the extraction proces.

    Aditional Tip: I was experimenting with x86 & x64 versions. I made an upgrade for our current .net framework 4.0 on win7 x64. You can install both x86 & x64 silent, but the x86 has an issue with uninstalling because it says it's invalid for the current OS. - raihne 10 years ago
  • There are EULA files and LocalizedData files for each language on the components tab in InstEd. If you delete the languages you don't want, would that work? - AnthonyInVA 9 years ago
    • Think I tried this, but caused an error.. Was a while ago now.. Did you try this and get it working? If so I'm keen to update the article. And look at 4.5.2 haha - trancendence 8 years ago
  • Hey Thanks for this, I'm running through this and stuck at Edit “CA_BlockDirectInstall” to equal “False”. Having never used instaedit before and not much knowledge of msi, what do I edit exactly, is it the condition? what do I set false? Currently "CA_BlockDirectInstall" is set to "NOT (EXTUI = 1 OR Installed)" how do I set that False, thanks in advance. - shutupsquare 8 years ago
    • Ok, from memory it's a String value, so double click on it and it should bring up an edit box. Then you can change the value to (by typing) "False" - without the quotation marks :)
      Let me know how you get on! - trancendence 8 years ago
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