How to switch back to .NET 2.0??

Ok, this may be a stupid question, but I am really stuck up here and I would appreciate some help.

A few months ago I installed .NET 3.5 (I think).
When I build projects for .NET with VS 2005 I am running my programs fine.
However in other machines others (with XP and not .NET 3.5) get the deadly message "Could not start application 0xC..."

Since I find disturbing having to tell anyone to download 3.5 to run my software, is there any way for me to build
my projects for .NET 2.0 ?? I have searched again and again through VS options and project properties, but with no luck!

Please help!!

If you use VS2005 your projects do target .Net 2.0. I think you're running into a different problem. What's the full error message?

If you give us the full description of the error, we have a better chance of helping.

Also, how are you deploying? XCopy, Setup, clickonce?

Sven Groot said:

If you use VS2005 your projects do target .Net 2.0. I think you're running into a different problem. What's the full error message?

Hi guys,
thanks for the feedback.

It seems the problem is a little complicated here.
The error that is thrown in one machine is this:
".NET Framework Initialization Error
To run this application you first must install one of the following versions of the .NET Framework: v2.0.50727
Contact you application publisher for instructions about obtaining the appropriate version of the .NET Framework"

However some others have reported an error which was like "The application could not initialize properly 0xC..." I cannot recall fully the error but it was only one line and the error code started with 0xC

Isn't there an easy way to ship an application in .NET and run on all Windows Desktop machines??
Perhaps ship an Installer in the setup which will take care of all appropriate actions to deal with incompatibilities.

This is really a pain when you want to create and distribute applications..

Thanks again guys for the help

Sven Groot said:

If you use VS2005 your projects do target .Net 2.0. I think you're running into a different problem. What's the full error message?

Hi guys,
thanks for the feedback.

It seems the problem is a little complicated here.
The error that is thrown in one machine is this:
".NET Framework Initialization Error
To run this application you first must install one of the following versions of the .NET Framework: v2.0.50727
Contact you application publisher for instructions about obtaining the appropriate version of the .NET Framework"

However some others have reported an error which was like "The application could not initialize properly 0xC..." I cannot recall fully the error but it was only one line and the error code started with 0xC

Isn't there an easy way to ship an application in .NET and run on all Windows Desktop machines??
Perhaps ship an Installer in the setup which will take care of all appropriate actions to deal with incompatibilities.

This is really a pain when you want to create and distribute applications..

Thanks again guys for the help

Hi guys,
thanks for the feedback.

It seems the problem is a little complicated here.
The error that is thrown in one machine is this:
".NET Framework Initialization Error
To run this application you first must install one of the following versions of the .NET Framework: v2.0.50727
Contact you application publisher for instructions about obtaining the appropriate version of the .NET Framework"

However some others have reported an error which was like "The application could not initialize properly 0xC..." I cannot recall fully the error but it was only one line and the error code started with 0xC

kurt_godel said:

Sven Groot said:

*snip*

Hi guys,
thanks for the feedback.

It seems the problem is a little complicated here.
The error that is thrown in one machine is this:
".NET Framework Initialization Error
To run this application you first must install one of the following versions of the .NET Framework: v2.0.50727
Contact you application publisher for instructions about obtaining the appropriate version of the .NET Framework"

However some others have reported an error which was like "The application could not initialize properly 0xC..." I cannot recall fully the error but it was only one line and the error code started with 0xC

Isn't there an easy way to ship an application in .NET and run on all Windows Desktop machines??
Perhaps ship an Installer in the setup which will take care of all appropriate actions to deal with incompatibilities.

This is really a pain when you want to create and distribute applications..

Thanks again guys for the help

The ".NET Framework Initialization Error..." message shows up when the user has a version .NET Framework installed but not the one needed by the application. Currently this means the user has .NET 1.x version and the application needs .NET 2.0 (or later).

The "The application could not initialize propertly..." message shows up when the user does not have any version of .NET Framework installed. This happens because all .NET exe/dlls are searching for mscoree.dll which does not exist when .NET Framework is not installed.

And in general, yes, you need an installer to install the required .NET Framework version or at least ask the user to do it. VS can create such installers but probably there are other options too.

The ClickOnce deploymant method allows you to select the Net framework as a prerequisite, which will therefore be installed automatically.

3.5 is an extension of 2.0 so the "base" for both is the same.

even if you have 3.5 installed if your code only targets 2.0 features then the app should run on a plain 2.0 install of .net

as others asked:  how are you distributing the app?  how do the users install it?

also you might want to look at vs 2008 as it can target 2.0 and 3.5 and will tell you wich one you are targeting in your app properties.

also they have a sp for vs 08 and .net 3.5 to make a better setup for users.

figuerres said:

3.5 is an extension of 2.0 so the "base" for both is the same.

even if you have 3.5 installed if your code only targets 2.0 features then the app should run on a plain 2.0 install of .net

as others asked:  how are you distributing the app?  how do the users install it?

also you might want to look at vs 2008 as it can target 2.0 and 3.5 and will tell you wich one you are targeting in your app properties.

also they have a sp for vs 08 and .net 3.5 to make a better setup for users.

"even if you have 3.5 installed if your code only targets 2.0 features then the app should run on a plain 2.0 install of .net"

It's actually a descriptor in the manifest - so while a 2.0 application can't use 3.5 features, it's possible for an app that uses only 2.0 features to "think" it's a 3.5 app, and to therefore demand 3.5 to be installed.

figuerres said:

3.5 is an extension of 2.0 so the "base" for both is the same.

even if you have 3.5 installed if your code only targets 2.0 features then the app should run on a plain 2.0 install of .net

as others asked:  how are you distributing the app?  how do the users install it?

also you might want to look at vs 2008 as it can target 2.0 and 3.5 and will tell you wich one you are targeting in your app properties.

also they have a sp for vs 08 and .net 3.5 to make a better setup for users.

Hi guys,

I am really sorry for posting three times the same post. My browser was stuck indicating "Saving..." but nothing seemed to be moving. Is this an error in channel 9 forums or is it my fault?

To answer about the distribution method, I am not into professional distribution, and all my desktop programs were simple zip archives with the executable inside. Now my confusion has been even worse since all others that have tried to launch my applications report all of them different errors!

To get things straight, I have VS2005, as I see in Control Panel->Add/Remove s/w I have .NET Framework SP 1 & .NET CF 2.0 SP2.
From the above I assume that when I create programs, they are on .NET 2.0. Right?
So these are my scenarios and guesses:
* One has reported "Initialization Error...You need version 2.0.50727..." . As I understand from your comments this means he has 2.0 but not SP1 right?
* Another has reported the "Could not start application error..0xC0...". I guess this means he has not at all .NET in his machine.
* Another on gets an application error "This application encountered an error and needs to close. Contact ...". This user has .NET 3.5 installed. So, my app is loaded properly because it locates .NET (mscoree) but fails because it is written for 2.0

Please tell me if I am getting this right! My head is going to explode!!
Now about the deployment I cant find the deployment methods (ClickOnce) you mention. Are they present in VS 2005?

Thank you very much guys!
Again sorry for the multiple posts!

kurt_godel said:

figuerres said:

*snip*

Hi guys,

I am really sorry for posting three times the same post. My browser was stuck indicating "Saving..." but nothing seemed to be moving. Is this an error in channel 9 forums or is it my fault?

To answer about the distribution method, I am not into professional distribution, and all my desktop programs were simple zip archives with the executable inside. Now my confusion has been even worse since all others that have tried to launch my applications report all of them different errors!

To get things straight, I have VS2005, as I see in Control Panel->Add/Remove s/w I have .NET Framework SP 1 & .NET CF 2.0 SP2.
From the above I assume that when I create programs, they are on .NET 2.0. Right?
So these are my scenarios and guesses:
* One has reported "Initialization Error...You need version 2.0.50727..." . As I understand from your comments this means he has 2.0 but not SP1 right?
* Another has reported the "Could not start application error..0xC0...". I guess this means he has not at all .NET in his machine.
* Another on gets an application error "This application encountered an error and needs to close. Contact ...". This user has .NET 3.5 installed. So, my app is loaded properly because it locates .NET (mscoree) but fails because it is written for 2.0

Please tell me if I am getting this right! My head is going to explode!!
Now about the deployment I cant find the deployment methods (ClickOnce) you mention. Are they present in VS 2005?

Thank you very much guys!
Again sorry for the multiple posts!

To clarify the various error message you get:

"Initialization Error...You need version 2.0.50727..." - as I already said that means the user only has .NET 1.x. It's not about .NET 2.0 vs .NET 2.0 SP1 because even SP1 has the same version number (2.0.50727).

"Could not start application error..0xC0...". - that always means no version of .NET installed.

"This application encountered an error and needs to close. Contact ...".  - that's a generic error message, it can mean anything including that your application has thrown an exception.

Dexter said:

kurt_godel said:

*snip*

To clarify the various error message you get:

"Initialization Error...You need version 2.0.50727..." - as I already said that means the user only has .NET 1.x. It's not about .NET 2.0 vs .NET 2.0 SP1 because even SP1 has the same version number (2.0.50727).

"Could not start application error..0xC0...". - that always means no version of .NET installed.

"This application encountered an error and needs to close. Contact ...".  - that's a generic error message, it can mean anything including that your application has thrown an exception.

You should review the project references and determine the specific versions of each referenced item.  I have seen silent upgrades to newer references occur before.  If you see references to items with higher revision numbers than 2.0 level items, remove those references and add the related references to the 2.0 objects.  Recompile and see what broke.  If you  have not used any 3.0isms or 3.5isms you should be in good shape.  If not, continue to remove/add references until you get newer items removed.

Of course if you find your project now requires a newer revision, upgrade your clients with the correct revisions of .NET framework.

Dexter said:

kurt_godel said:

*snip*

To clarify the various error message you get:

"Initialization Error...You need version 2.0.50727..." - as I already said that means the user only has .NET 1.x. It's not about .NET 2.0 vs .NET 2.0 SP1 because even SP1 has the same version number (2.0.50727).

"Could not start application error..0xC0...". - that always means no version of .NET installed.

"This application encountered an error and needs to close. Contact ...".  - that's a generic error message, it can mean anything including that your application has thrown an exception.

Thank you very much guys. This was really helpful!

About the generic error message, this occurs in a machine with 3.5 installed and we try to run the same application that works fine anywhere else, so I guess it is not a generic problem, but perhaps as you mention reference related.

One other issue that has occured is that in the application after I added two COM components (WMP, and another) my VS 2005 sometimes has really hard times. CPU goes 100% and it seems there is a bad memory leakage situation. Does anyone have a clue on that and could this be due to me having messed up .NET versions?

thanx!