Do I need microsoft .NET framework?

Do I need these at all?

Win XP Pro will work fine without them, but some programs (mostly third party) may not work unless the *.NET Framework is installed.  The reason is that it is incredibly easy to develop Windows Applications that target *.NET vs old school Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) or the plain Win 32 C API.  Many companies these days are no longer developing the older MFC applications because it costs them too much time and money to do so.  Because of this, you are going to see more are more *.NET Framework applications coming out in the future.  

If you have mostly older software that was written by professional companies then you may not need *.NET Framework, but if you have newer software (whether written by professionals or novices) or shareware (written in the last few years) then you might need it. 

Can they be safety deleted?

While de-installing *.NET Framework from Vista or Windows 7 would likely break the OS, de-installing *.NET Framework from XP is harmless.  About the worst thing that could happen is that your AntiVirus software could quit working until you reinstalled *.NET Framework.

If I were in your shoes, then I might:

1. Download *.NET Framework 4.0   http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0a391abd-25c1-4fc0-919f-b21f31ab88b7&displaylang=en  and save to a CD-R/DVD-R
2. Use Add/Remove programs to take all *.NET Framework kits off my computer.
3. Reboot.
4. Install *.NET Framework 4.0  from the CD-R/DVD-R you just created.
5. Hit Microsoft Update to see if there are any *.NET Framework 4.0 related updates.
6. Continue on with life.

Alternatively, you could just remove all of the *.NET Frameworks from Win XP and just wait to see if anything breaks.  There's a pretty good chance that things will run quite well for some time...  But whatever you do.  Make 100% sure that you AntiVirus works after you uninstall *.NET Framework.  More and more professionals are turning toward *.NET Framework as a means to cut development costs and I would hate to see you ridding the information super highway without your Airbags and setbealt in place.

Lastly, you might just want to consider getting another hard drive...

Best,

Shawn

Warning:

Absolutely no warranty express or implied comes with this post.  The poster will not be held liable for any physical, mental, emotional or financial loss that results from the use of suggestions or information contained in this post.  Entities that follow the advise in this post do so at their own risk.

On Thu, 10 Sep 2015 17:14:11 +0000, john matacola [Insider] wrote:

Will I cause problems with Windows 10 if I uninstall this?

No. If uninstalling causes problems, it will be with applications (not

just games), not with Windows.

However, I strongly recommend against uninstalling it. You may run one

or more programs that need it, and if you don't, you may install such

a program tomorrow. There's no real benefit to uninstalling it, but

there is a significant risk (however, if you do uninstall it and it

turns out you need it, you can always download and install it again).

I understand that uninstalling the .NET framework could cause problems but in my case it is the problem because the computer crashes with the whea_uncorrectable_error. After running the sfc command it found corrupt files but was unable to fix them. I ran both DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealthand DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealthand got the response that source files could not be found and to use the "source" option to specify the location of the files required. After checking the logs everything seems to point to the file _DataOracleClientPerfCounters_shared12_neutral.hhowever I don't know how to use the "source" option and after being unable to use the computer for about 2 weeks because of this problem I have just opted to turn off the .NET Framework 4.6from the control panel and the computer hasn't crashed since then. Is this safe to continue? or do I have to find out how to specify the location?

On Thu, 10 Sep 2015 17:14:11 +0000, john matacola [Insider] wrote:

Will I cause problems with Windows 10 if I uninstall this?

No. If uninstalling causes problems, it will be with applications (not
just games), not with Windows.

However, I strongly recommend against uninstalling it. You may run one
or more programs that need it, and if you don't, you may install such
a program tomorrow. There's no real benefit to uninstalling it, but
there is a significant risk (however, if you do uninstall it and it
turns out you need it, you can always download and install it again).

On Thu, 10 Sep 2015 18:42:03 +0000, john matacola [Insider] wrote:

On Thu, 10 Sep 2015 17:14:11 +0000, john matacola [Insider] wrote:

Will I cause problems with Windows 10 if I uninstall this?

No. If uninstalling causes problems, it will be with applications (not
just games), not with Windows.

However, I strongly recommend against uninstalling it. You may run one
or more programs that need it, and if you don't, you may install such
a program tomorrow. There's no real benefit to uninstalling it, but
there is a significant risk (however, if you do uninstall it and it
turns out you need it, you can always download and install it again).

Thanks Ken I found that to be very helpful and it checks out as accurate according to friends and other resources.

I appreciate that

You're welcome. Glad to help.

On Thu, 10 Sep 2015 17:14:11 +0000, john matacola [Insider] wrote:

Will I cause problems with Windows 10 if I uninstall this?

No. If uninstalling causes problems, it will be with applications (not

just games), not with Windows.

However, I strongly recommend against uninstalling it. You may run one

or more programs that need it, and if you don't, you may install such

a program tomorrow. There's no real benefit to uninstalling it, but

there is a significant risk (however, if you do uninstall it and it

turns out you need it, you can always download and install it again).

Thanks Ken I found that to be very helpful and it checks out as accurate according to friends and other resources.

I appreciate that

j