.NET 3.5 reference dll not found on .NET 2.0 Windows Server 2003 machine. Should I manually add this dll to GAC or need to install .NET Framework 3.5 ?

Ian Taylor 1 Reputation point
2021-04-07T04:53:48.743+00:00

Hi All,

I have .NET framework 2.0 installed on my Windows Server 2003 machine. I have a source code which was targeting .NET framework 3.5.

My project is throwing error on the reference file System.Data.DataSetExtensions.dll. It says file not found on Windows Server 2003 machine.

Should I just copy and paste the System.Data.DataSetExtensions.dll from other machine and deploy this into the GAC to resolve this issue ? or need to install .NET framework 3.5 in Windows Server 2003 machine.

Please let me know which approach should work fine ?

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  1. Tianyu Sun-MSFT 26,311 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2021-04-07T06:52:37.22+00:00

    Hi @Ian Taylor ,

    Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

    I think if the error only mentioned the System.Data.DataSetExtensions.dll, then only add and deploy it to GAC will work fine. Of course, I believe installing .NET Framework 3.5 will also work fine, but as you know, Windows Server 2003 is end of support, so I’m not sure if installing .NET Framework 3.5 on Windows Server 2003 will cause some compatibility issues or other errors.

    Suggestion:

    Perhaps you can try to add and deploy this dll to GAC first, and if it doesn’t work, or there are some new errors appear, you can consider installing .NET Framework 3.5 later.

    Best Regards,
    Tianyu

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