How to repair the .net 2.0 SP2 runtime? Should be obvious but isn't apparently

Question

I have some problem with the .net runtime since installing some recent sharepoint fixes but as I can't see anyone else having had this problem I think it may be coincidental and the runtime just needs repairing.

So, I do the usual thing, open Add/Remove Programs find Microsoft .NET framework 2.0 Service Pack 2 and click on "Click here for support information" whereupon I get the version information and a Repair button. Clicking on Repair asks for the whereabouts of "netfx20a_x86.msi" which I don't have on my system, so I can't repair it.

I download the .Net 2.0 SP2 distributable installer executable from Microsoft, use the /T command line to open it up so that I can see the files and sure enough there is the netfx20a_x86.msi installer a few directories in. So I go back to my Repair option and provide the path to the msi file.

After a brief moment i get an alert box saying "to install this product please run setup.exe" which is nice, but I don't want to install it. Still, I make the effort and go back to run setup.exe.

I get a message informing me that this product is already installed on this machine and if I want to repair it I need to use the "Repair" option from Add/Remove Programs.

What next?

Solution 1

Uninstall it first? Or try installing 3.5 SP1 as it will take care of previous version dependencies as well.

Solution 2

Maybe try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility to resolve this one?

Solution 3

I used this:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2009/02/18/9432938.aspx

worked great for me - XP.

Comments

[HMO]

Ah, so a reinstall/cleanup of any version of the runtime will sort them all? The software that I'm having a problem with runs against version 2 so I figured that was where I needed to focus.

[Oskar Duveborn]

3.5 SP1 would anyway as it includes the others but can still be installed without first removing say 2.0... just an idea though ^^