The version 1.0 release of the Microsoft® .NET Framework provides one redistributable installer that contains the common language runtime and .NET Framework components that are necessary to run .NET Framework applications. The .NET Framework redistributable is available as a stand-alone executable file, Dotnetfx.exe. The .NET Framework requires a license agreement that gives you specific rights to redistribute Dotnetfx.exe. If you have previously installed the Microsoft .NET Framework SDK, Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET, or downloaded Dotnetfx.exe from the Web, you have accepted the license agreement for Dotnetfx.exe. For the terms of the license agreement, see .NET Framework Redistributable EULA.

You can manually launch and install Dotnetfx.exe on a computer, or it can be launched and installed as part of the setup program for a .NET Framework application. Note that administrator privileges are required to install Dotnetfx.exe. If you have previously installed the .NET Framework SDK or Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, you do not need to install Dotnetfx.exe.

This article covers deployment scenarios for Visual Studio .NET users. For more information about deploying Dotnetfx.exe, see the .NET Framework Deployment Guide. This Web site provides detailed deployment information including a white paper that addresses specific deployment scenarios for .NET Framework SDK users.

There are minimum configuration requirements that must be met in order to install Dotnetfx.exe. For more information about software and hardware requirements and recommendations, see Minimum Configuration Requirements.