Unable to install windows debugging tools on windows 7, it says it needs .NET Framework 4, but won't let me install it

Question

Unable to install windows debugging tools on windows 7, it says it needs .NET Framework 4, but won't let me install it

I wanted to analyze a BSOD, so I looked https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Analyze-a-BSOD-Crash-Dump/ and it said to install Windows Debugging Tools / Windbg.

And it linked to https://developer.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/downloads/sdk-archive/ which mentions

so I click install sdk and it goes here

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8279

So I click download and I get winsdk_web.exe (498KB)

So I click that , and it says

So I go http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=187668

It lists a bunch of .NET Frameworks

I recall hearing that one doesn't include prior ones.

I tried installing .NET Framework 4.0 "dotNetFx40_Full_setup.exe" and it said

I tried 4.8 "ndp48-web.exe"

That seems to have installed.

I also might have some .NET frameworks installed already as I have visual studio

Then I try the winsdk executable again, and it says the same as before

Ramhound says that .NET framework 4.8 is a replacement for .NET framework 4.0 and you can't have both. And on the idea if installing 4.5 instead of 4.8, he says that "4.5 cannot be installed because .NET 4.8 being installed."

"I notice that the Windows SDK link I am using says For Framework 4 Released in June 2010, this SDK can be used to develop applications for Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and .NET Framework versions 2.0, 3.0, 3.5 SP1, and 4.0."

and

Ramhound has suggested installing the latest windows sdk , That's Windows 10 SDK https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk/ I notice that it lists Windows 7 SP1 as being at least somewhat supported(it says for win32 development, though i'm not doing that and i'm not sure who would, as computers have been 64bit for many years).But it may include a working windbg, So I will try that.

Answer 1

I am Unable to install windows debugging tools on windows 7, it says it needs .NET Framework 4, but won't let me install it.

You are unable to install .NET Framework 4.0 on a system that has .NET Framework 4.8 already installed. The Windows SDK for Windows 7 installation is failing due to you have .NET Framework installed on your system. Windows 7 comes with .NET Framework 3.5. If .NET Framework 4.0 was installed, it would be a separate installation of the .NET Framework. The error message has improperly called out the reason the installation has failed. This is due to the fact, the Windows SDK for Windows 7 installer has not been updated to properly identify newer versions of the .NET Framework.

I wanted to analyze a BSOD, so I looked How to Analyze a BSOD Crash Dump and it said to install Windows Debugging Tools / Windbg.

The article you are attempting to use is outdated and is no longer accurate. Additionally, the tool that was suggested in a comment has not been updated in over 2 years. While I am sure it was accurate back in 2018, it wouldn't properly detect .NET Framework 4.8 today, and based on a comment you submitted, that was the reason it only detected .NET Framework 4.7.2.

A tool that does work properly is ASoft .NET Version Detector. However, applications that target .NET Framework 4.0 absolutely should run successfully on your system since you have .NET Framework 4.8 installed.

So that leaves more related issues re what to experiment to resolve this, should I remove 4.8 and try installing 4.5? Would it even work with 4.5?

Downgrading to .NET Framework 4.5 wouldn't solve your problems attempting to install Windows SDK for Windows 7.

I have 4, 4.7.2, and 2, so that's the first, the last, number 4, and so I probably have all of the ones listed there.

This means you can run applications that were compiled against the .NET Framework 4.0. In order to run WinDBG, you need to install the current Windows 10 SDK and install the Debugging Tools for Windows by choosing that option after running the installer. The Windows 10 SDK can absolutely be installed on Windows 7.

You can install the Debugging Tools for Windows alone, without the Windows SDK or WDK, by starting the installation of the Windows SDK and then selecting only Debugging Tools for Windows in the list of features to install (and clearing the selection of all other features). To download the installer or an ISO image, see Windows 10 SDK on Windows Dev Center.

Source: Install Debugging Tools for Windows

I notice that it lists Windows 7 SP1 as being at least somewhat supported(it says for win32 development, though i'm not doing that and i'm not sure who would, as computers have been 64bit for many years).But it may include a working windbg, So I will try that.

Win32 is a generic description of any application that isn’t a Universal Windows Application program. It doesn’t mean it’s limited to 32-bit applications designed to run on Windows. As for who is doing Win32 development, that would be hundreds of thousands of developers, basically any desktop application that runs on Windows is considered a Win32 application (provided it’s not a UWP application).

well I just tried installing windows 10 sdk with all default options checked i.imgur.com/HKRy7AW.png and it installs with windbg C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64\windbg.exe

The 32-bit version of WinDBG should exist in the x86 folder in the Debugger folder.