What Windows 7 .NET versions are required?

Good afternoon,

I am doing a clean install from a customized install.wim (ISO) via DISM that has the updates:

KB3020369 (April 2015 Servicing Stack Update).
KB3125574 (April 2016 Convenience Update Rollup).
KB3172605 (July 2016 Functional Update Rollup Package).
KB3179573 (August 2016 Functional Update Rollup Package).
KB4074598 (February 2018 Security Monthly Quality Rollup Update).

Now I assume that before connecting to the Internet that I immediately need to run (KB2841134) IE11-Windows6.1-x64-en-us.msu. Is this the right one and are there any further updates needed after installing this?

My question is please, what .NET's do I need to bring the clean install up to date as I can also download and run these offline too.

I know that .NET Framework 4.7.1 is the latest version.

What other .NET versions do I need if any please?
What .NET version(s) are installed already on a clean Windows 7 SP1 please?

The following link for supported client operating systems (32-bit and 64-bit) lists the following .NET versions for Windows 7:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/get-started/system-requirements

.NET Framework 4
.NET Framework 4.5
.NET Framework 4.5.1
.NET Framework 4.5.2
.NET Framework 4.6
.NET Framework 4.6.1
.NET Framework 4.6.2
.NET Framework 4.7
.NET Framework 4.7.1

Thanks in advance.

What do you need is strictly determined by what other software you use. Remember that .NET is just a library used to support other programs, not a program in itself, it may well not be installed without any trouble, or it may be needed for some program. It depends on what do you use, and nobody can know that.

That said, I think your approach is the best, just install all of them and forget about it

To resume, yes, you need both 4.7.1 and 3.5 (bundled with Windows 7 by default) to cover all the cases.

Paul Black said:

Now I assume that before connecting to the Internet that I immediately need to run (KB2841134) IE11-Windows6.1-x64-en-us.msu. Is this the right one and are there any further updates needed after installing this?

That's the update to IE11, recommended if you're using Internet Explorer, but not strictly needed otherwise. You might want to install other security updates too, but neither is a requirement to use internet.

Paul Black said:

I know that .NET Framework 4.7.1 is the latest version.

Not for long, 4.7.2 is already in beta
It never ceases to amase me how quickly things become "obsolete".

Paul Black said:

On further investigation it appears that Windows 7 SP1 (clean install) nativelyincludes version .NET Framework 3.5 whichsupports apps etc built for .NET Framework 1.0 through 3.5.

.NET 1.0 and 1.1 are totally obsolete and no longer run in Windows 7. .NET Framework 3.5 doesn't runs them. Chances are than you'll never encounter them in any software though. 3.5 runs 2 and 3, and 4.7.1 runs all 4.X versions.

Thanks for the detailed reply Alejandro85, it is appreciated.

Alejandro85 said:

That's the update to IE11, recommended if you're using Internet Explorer, but not strictly needed otherwise. You might want to install other security updates too, but neither is a requirement to use internet.

The only reason that I will be using IE is because I am going to do a clean install as per my post #1 and I will need IE to check for further updates. Otherwise I would remove it from the install.wim prior to installation. It is only because I don't think there is another option to check for updates other than IE?

Thanks in advance.

Internet Explorer is not needed at all to check for updates. Just use the control panel applet "Windows Update" and it'll offer to check whenever you want. IE is not a requirement for that. Installations that don't even have IE can still get and install updates.

I only keep it around because some poorly designed programs insist to use its engine (sometimes without real reason), but if you're going for something else, don't bother too much.

Thanks for the reply Alejandro85,

I have been Googling and found the following information that implies that Windows updates for Windows 7 can only be done using IE.

https://www.askdavetaylor.com/need-u...ndows-updates/

Here is a snippet from the above article:

In some version of Windows one way to get updates is to visit the Windows Update web site. Yes, it’s very likely that if you do this you’ll need to do it using Internet Explorer. The Windows Update website relies on an ActiveX control to do its job which implies using Internet Explorer. But that’s the only time you’d be required to use IE.

I also found this comment on another site when talking about using Google Chrome to do the Windows updates:

Just checked, seems that it only downloads important/critical/security updates. It does so without requiring ActiveX or IE; those are pretty much reserved for the "optional" updates that are (IMO) entirely useless. The funny thing is the ActiveX Control could have easily just been made a standalone executable. They just artificially coupled it to both the site as well as to their browser for- obvious reasons. At least Vista and 7 have the entire thing decoupled. You can get a similar applet for XP (separate, lists available updates, etc)

So I am confused now .

Thanks in advance.

For the first article, it's somewhat outdated in some aspect, incredibly misleading in others, but some important points are that it clearly claims that IE is NOT required at all for updating Windows. Your quote in fact also says that "In some version of Windows", not saying what one. I'll add that, it refers to Windows 98 and ME, and maybe 2000 and XP.
In addition, the Windows Update website some years ago abused of ActiveX controls, that only runs in IE. In 98 and ME, that website was the only way to get updates, that's when the fact was true. Don't remember in 2000 and XP. But since Vista and later, Windows gained a control panel applet that does installs updates without the need for a web browser at all. You only had to use the website if you wanted to download updates and keep their installers.

A few years ago, the Windows Update website was finally fixed and the ActiveX control was completely removed. Right now, you can use not only IE, but also any real browser to access it and download any update. You can even do that from a Linux or Mac computer! I would also bet that an Android browser is also capable of downloading Windows Updates

As for the second quote, I don't know the where reference comes from and without more context is difficult to draw conclussions, but it's also clearly misleading too. And the "At least Vista and 7 have the entire thing decoupled" part indicates that it's not a requirement.

So in short, IE is not needed at all for updating, it's not even needed to be installed, much less used. Not since quite a few years, at least.