XP - .NET Framework 2.0 Question

[Monroe]

I only have .NET Framework 2.0 installed from 2012 when I changed from Windows 98SE to Windows XP SP3. I really only did this since ocassionally I would run into a software program that required .NET Framework 1.0 or 2.0 ... just some form of .NET Framework. There were not many of those in 2012 but I suppose today in 2015, there could be more newer programs requiring .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.0 ... I don't know.

 

So I stopped at version 2.0 ... today I am checking in the Add-Remove Program list and I see that .NET Framework 2.0 is listed as being "Used Rarely". It is noted that it was last used on 06/06/2012 ... which is a little later after I installed .NET Framework 1.1 and 2.0 in April or May of 2012.

 

So my questions are ... how accurate is the information that .NET Framework 2.0 hasn't been used or accessed in any way since 06/06/2012?

 

Also ... if that information is correct, could I just remove the whole .NET Framework program and not have any problems in the future? I have all the software on my XP setup that I really need and use and except for some updates to programs already on my computer ... I do not see myself installing very many new programs in the future.

 

So is it at all "possible" that .NET Framework 2.0 is being used every so often and the date is not being changed or updated in the "Add Remove Program" list?

 

monroe

[submix8c]

Run nLite and see if it changes?

[Monroe]

submix8c ... no the date is still the same - 06/06/2012 for .NET Framework 2.0.

 

[vinifera]

funnily win7 even if offers this info, its column is blank

another XP superiority

 

from my experience in past, that info IS correct (the date) 

[Monroe]

vinifera ... thanks for the information that you feel the "last used" date information is correct.

 

I just started up a program that I haven't used for a very long time ...

System Information for Windows 2010 (SIW) ... it shows the date that I installed Windows XP ... which was 05/05/2012 ... a month later on 06/06/2012 is the last time showing that .NET Framework 2.0 was accessed in some way in the Add-Remove Program list.

 

I never wanted to go with the .NET Framework 3.5 version mainly because the download was so large ... plus I wasn't even sure I really needed a newer version.

 

With .NET Framework 2.0 not having been accessed since 2012 ... maybe I don't need .NET Framework on my computer at all.

 

Anybody have a Yes or No on that ... perhaps just leave the 2.0 installed as is ... or free up some space. I have 160 GB hard drive, so I have plenty of hard drive space available.

 

Anything negative with having .NET Framework installed ... even if it's never used?

...

Edited December 19, 2015 by monroe

[vinifera]

leave it, just remove x64 files manually if it has them

version 1/1.1 is unneeded, remove it completely

 

v2 isn't that big, IIRC it was somewhat 80 MB

in fact the only annoyance was ngen service that chokes CPU when .net app is ran

which you can disable

[submix8c]

MalwareBytes - Last Used May, 2009.

A lie! I've used it many times since.

[Monroe]

submix8c  ... OK, there is something crazy going on here. I just checked MalwareBytes on my setup. I haven't really run it for a few months but I update the program at least once a week. It shows no date of last being used and says "Used Rarely".

 

Even if I don't actually run the program to  check for problems ... I'm still starting it to get the latest updates.

 

Now here's where it gets crazy ... I have two lotto programs on my system that I rarely use but they have a number generator ... so I installed them ... it would have been a "fresh install" onto my XP setup in May or June of 2012 ... after installing XP of course.

 

One program says "Used Rarely" and that it was last used on 08/23/2006.

 

The other program also says used "Used Rarely" and that it was last used on 08/13/2007.

 

How can that be? ... since I didn't install these programs till 2012. I probably had them on my Windows 98SE setup in 2007 ... but they were installed fresh on the XP setup.

 

I guess that information in the "Add Remove Program" list is really not correct or can't be trusted. I will leave .NET Framework 2.0 on my computer ... it may have been used many times since 2012.

 

This is interesting to have found this out. I'm wondering if there is a non MS program that might actually report accurate information about when a program was last used?

...

[vinifera]

maybe this:

 

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/executed_programs_list.html

[Monroe]

Very nice program ... leave it to NirSoft to have a program, they seem to have one for everything. I have some of their software on my sysytem ... I wasn't aware of that program ... it sure does provide a lot of information.

 

When I added it, the "File Created On" date and time were correct. I went through the list and I saw a lot of dates ... 05/05/2012 and 05/06/2012. This was when I installed XP and then several days of adjusting settings and adding software.

 

The very last column "Last Executed On" seems to have correct dates ... MalwareBytes and the other programs look OK. However, the question that started this topic is still not answered ... I see no listing for .NET Framework ... there are a lot of MS product listings.

 

The dates seem to be OK or make sense in the last column ... the only thing is that a lot of programs seem to have December 2015 dates ... I have not opened a lot of programs for some time so I'm not sure about that.

 

Still a good program for information.

 

* I meant December 2015 and not 2012 in the last paragraph ... I've got 2012 in my head.

...

Edited December 21, 2015 by monroe

[Monroe]

OK, I just came across a program from MS that I have never heard of ... Windows PowerShell 1.0 ... this version is for XP and it only requires .NET Framework Version 2.0.

 

Windows PowerShell 1.0 English-Language Installation Package for Windows XP (KB926139)

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7217

 

Date Published:

6/23/2008

File Size:

1.6 MB

 

Supported Operating System

Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP Service Pack 3

Requires .NET Framework Version 2.0

 

Then I found another topic of creating a command using Windows PowerShell to show "only" the following for a file.

 

First - the date it was created, Second - when it was modified, Third - when it was last accessed.

 

http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2014/02/07/use-powershell-to-find-files-that-have-not-been-accessed.aspx

 

This is the fifth in a series of posts that talk about working with files and folders by using Windows PowerShell.

 

There are three basic properties of a file that I commonly use when looking at files that are neglected. The first is the date it was created, the second is when it was modified, and last is when it was accessed. These properties are visible when I to go the General tab of a file in File Explorer.

 

I can use the Get-ChildItem cmdlet and the Select-Object cmdlet and return the three properties. The command to do this is:

 

Get-ChildItem c:\fso -File | select name, *time

 

The following image illustrates the command and its output: There is an image showing the results at the link.

 

This is getting a little complicated but this might be a nice program to have for Windows XP ... the download still works at the MS website for the program.

 

I have to read more about this program ... anyone familiar with or use Windows PowerShell?

...

Edited December 21, 2015 by monroe

[Monroe]

I found a Windows PowerShell update for Windows 7 but was also for XP ... but this version is only for  Windows XP Service Pack 3. It makes no mention of .NET Framework so I don't know if 2.0 is OK or a newer version of .NET Framework may be needed.

 

PowerShell 2.0 for Windows XP

 

http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/11/02/powershell-2-0-for-windows-xp-etc/

 

Posted on 2 November 2009 by John

 

PowerShell version 2.0 shipped with Windows 7 and with Windows Server 2008 R2, but it only recently became available for other versions of Windows.

 

The release of PowerShell 2.0 has been more like a leak than a product launch. The announcement page hardly reads like an announcement. The title reads “Description of the Windows Management Framework on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008.” What’s this “Windows Management Framework”? I’ve never heard of that. I just want the new PowerShell. The first time I saw this page was when someone sent me a link saying PowerShell 2.0 was available for XP. I thought they’d sent me the wrong link by mistake because I didn’t see anything about PowerShell at first. Only if you scroll down to the middle of a long page can you see links to download PowerShell.

 

I expected something more like the following.

 

PowerShell 2.0 Released

 

Download for your platform:

XP

Vista (32 bit, 64 bit)

Server 2003 (32 bit, 64 bit)

Server 2008 (32 bit, 64 bit)

 

The MS XP download page ...

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=16818

 

Update for Windows XP (KB968930)

 

Date Published:

10/26/2009

File Size:

5.9 MB

 

Supported Operating System

Windows XP Service Pack 3

 

*** This might still be of use to someone with a lot of XP computers still in the workplace ... maybe not.

 

Use PowerShell to Find Windows XP Computers Still Alive in Your Active Directory Domain

Ashley McGlone

29 Jan 2014

 

http://blogs.technet.com/b/ashleymcglone/archive/2014/01/30/use-powershell-to-find-windows-xp-computers-still-alive-in-your-active-directory-domain.aspx

 

PS PSA – PowerShell Public Service Announcement

 

Usually I like to offer deep technical content on the blog, but today I’m going to keep it simple. Everyone should be keenly aware that Windows XP support officially ends on April 8, 2014. Many companies are migrating from Windows XP and need a quick script to check their progress. This is a simple solution with a couple variations to meet your needs.

 

Get-ADComputer

 

If you have tinkered at all with the AD PowerShell module, then this cmdlet should be familiar to you. Lucky for us Active Directory tracks the operating system of computers. Listing all the Windows XP computers in the domain can be as simple as this:

 

PS C:\> Import-Module ActiveDirectory

PS C:\> Get-ADComputer -Filter {OperatingSystem -like "*XP*"}

 

It is worth noting that the OperatingSystem attribute is not stored in the global catalog, so you will need to query each domain separately.

 

Beyond the basic attributes returned in the default set it would be nice to see date stamp fields that can help us determine if the Windows XP computer account is still active.  In a previous post I discussed some tips on working with date fields in AD, and we’re going to use that technique here.  We’ll also snag the relevant operating system attributes. Notice that I’m not using the infamous “-Properties *” option. For efficiency I list only the specific fields that I want to query and display. Finally, I’ve thrown in some PowerShell magic to grab the owner recorded on the account.

 

*** there's more to the article.

...

Edited December 21, 2015 by monroe

[Mcinwwl]

If you have up-to-date win XP, you have PS 2, not 1. Just run Powershell and type Get-Host, press enter - should return few lines of text, wit one of them saying version: 2.0

 

Power Shell is just a system shell  - like command line, but newer By default it was delivered to XP by updates and by default it does not allow to run unsigned scripts.

 

Unless you don't plan to write some scripts on your own, just leave it as it is and no harm will come to you.

[Monroe]

I have PS 1.0 installed ... PS 2.0 would not install. I only have .NET Framework 2.0 installed and it said that .NET Framework 2.1 SP1 was required. I found that update and then I then found .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 and several more updates for .NET Framework.

 

I thought .NET Framework 2.0 was completely updated ... but it's not.

...

[vinifera]

PS is just addition, its not XP internal component...

try looking for ngen service(exe) that shit is usually tied to .net 2

as it is its "optimizer" that runs when .net app is invoked