Windows Vista, .NET 3.0 and Windows SDK Compatibility Matrix

[28 September 2006 Update] The Windows Vista September CTP has been released to beta members. There is a matching September CTP from the .NET 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK, "Orcas" Tools and Workflow Extensions to Visual Studio 2005.

I originally wrote this blog entry to help folks reconcile the differences between three concurrent releases of Windows Vista - each of which had different release points (public vs. MSDN vs. beta-only) - with the various moving parts that developers needed (.NET 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK and Visual Studio 2005 Extensions). Due to popular demand, I've decided to continue updating it through RTM with each release of the various products.

Note: CTPs are generally removed once superceded by two releases. Therefore, this blog entry will be updated to remove the links to those releases which are no longer available from our servers.

Below, I’ve listed the builds in terms of what works with each operating system and development/runtime environment to help you decide which build you need. Once you know which build you wish to install, you can then use the Download Locations Matrix to locate the download pages/links. The last section then enumerates some key points regarding each build milestone.

Determining the Build that is Right for You

Are you setting up this environment for Windows Vista?

• Is Windows Vista September CTP the most current build you have access to? (Beta Members and CPP) September CTP
• Is Windows Vista RC1 the most current build you have access to? (MSDN Subscription, Beta Members and CPP) RC1
• Is Windows Vista Beta 2 the most current build you have access to? (While the Windows Vista Beta 2 is publicly available to anyone, the June CTP requires a beta membership and July CTP requires either beta membership or an MSDN subscription) Beta 2
• Do you have access to the Windows Vista June and July CTP builds and want the complete set of matching Windows Vista/.NET 3.0 development bits? June CTP (There is no July CTP build of the “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0)
• Do you have access to Windows Vista July CTP and want the matching Windows Vista/.NET 3.0 development bits even though they do not contain the “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0? July CTP

Are you setting up this environment for Windows XP SP2 or Windows 2003 Server?

• Do you want the latest complete set of matching .NET 3.0 development bits? September CTP

Download Locations Matrix

To use this matrix, simply locate the row that matches the operating system and build milestone that you're targeting (shown in the first column of each row). Then from left to right download and install each desired tool on that row with the following considerations:

• If you want to run (not develop .NET 3.0 applications), you only need the .NET 3.0 Runtime Components for the desired build milestone. (The other downloads are for developing native and .NET 3.0 applications)
• If you want to develop native-only (non.NET) applications, you only need the Windows SDK for the desired build milestone.
• "Orcas" Tools for .NET 3.0 Development is only needed if you are writing Windows Presentation Foundation applications and are using a released (non beta) copy of Visual Studio 2005 (including the Express Editions)
• Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) Extensions to Visual Studio is only needed if you are writing Windows Workflow Foundation applications and are using a released (non beta) copy of Visual Studio 2005 (including the Express Editions)

Note:  Since these are all "prerelease bits", it is highly recommended that you install these products/technologies on a non-production, test machine and remove any previous versions before installing.

Build Notes

Here are some key notes for each currently published build milestone for Windows Vista and the .NET 3.0 Framework development tools.

Windows Vista Pre RC1

• Windows Vista Build 5536 was a prerelease for RC1 directed at end-users (non developers).
• There were no released matching developer bits (Windows SDK, Visual Studio 2005 Extensions, etc.)

July 2006 CTP

• Windows Vista July CTP (5472.5) is only available for MSDN subscribers and beta members
• The July CTP includes builds of the .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components and Windows SDK for use with Windows Vista July CTP (5472.5), Windows XP or Windows 2003 Server
• There is no July CTP build of the “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0
• The July CTP builds of .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components and Windows SDK are not supported for .NET 3.0 development on Windows Vista Beta 2 or Windows Vista June CTP

June 2006 CTP

• Windows Vista June CTP (5456) is only available to beta members
• There are public downloads for June CTP builds of .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK and “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0 for use with Windows Vista June CTP (5456), Windows XP or Windows 2003 Server
• The June CTP builds of .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK and “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0 are not supported for .NET Framework 3.0 development on Windows Vista Beta 2

Beta 2

• Windows Vista Beta 2 (Build 5384) is the most current public build of the Vista operating system that is available to anyone.
• There are matching bits for the .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK, “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0 and the Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation bits that are also publicly available.
• If this is the most current version of Windows Vista that you can access (the June CTP requires beta membership and the July CTP requires beta membership or an MSDN subscription), then you should only use the matching Beta 2 bits for the aforementioned runtime components and development tools.

Comments

• Anonymous
  July 17, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 17, 2006
  The July CTP .NET Framework 3.0 and Windows SDK are now available for download. This release is primarily...

• Anonymous
  July 17, 2006
  The July CTP of .NET 3.0 (formerly WinFX) is now available, but be careful; it may not be for you. ...

• Anonymous
  July 17, 2006
  The most common setup or download error by far for our users has been corrupt DVD ISO downloads. We are...

• Anonymous
  July 17, 2006
  PingBack from http://microsoft.wagalulu.com/2006/07/17/july-ctp-of-net-30-formerly-winfx-released-with-caveats/

• Anonymous
  July 17, 2006
  The July CTP release of the Windows SDK and .NET Framework 3.0 are live on the web at these URLs:
  Microsoft...

• Anonymous
  July 17, 2006
  Jeszcze nie przebrzmiały echa zmiany nazwy pakietu technologii znanego jako WinFX na .NET 3.0, a już...

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  I have updated my short article on getting started with .NET Framework 3.0 and Windows Vista to reflect...

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  PingBack from http://microsoft.wagalulu.com/2006/07/18/updated-getting-started-with-net-framework-30-and-vista-and-worflow-foundation-folks-get-rc4/

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  What's the point of a July framework release with no corresponding Visual Studio toolset release?

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  Thankfully Tom Archer has written up a piece on which bits work with what.

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  PingBack from http://microsoft.wagalulu.com/2006/07/18/theres-beta-22-a-june-ctp-and-a-july-ctp/

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  Solo sobre un par de noticias sobre el día de hoy:
  1) Microsoft adquiere Winternals Software, los creadores...

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  PingBack from http://laurenlavoie.com/avalon/166

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  Kevin D. White - There are many scenarios where customers were asking for the July CTP.
  
  * Not all development is managed. Many customers wanted the latest Win32 API fixes.
  
  * Many customers don't absolutely need things like project templates as they're close to shipping their product and are willing to put with not having Intellisense for a month in order to get bug fixes
  
  * The Workflow extensions shipped a July CTP so customers doing Workflow still want a release.
  
  I could go on, but the point is that there were enough customers that the CTP helped to warrant sending it out. For those that it doesn't help, they simply don't install it and stay with the June CTP.

• Anonymous
  July 18, 2006
  is windows SDK needed to be installed to develop “Orcas”/”Indigo” applications, when I consider BETA 2 release??

• Anonymous
  July 19, 2006
  Will the next CTP have the VS extensions?
  
  Mikael Söderström

• Anonymous
  July 19, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 19, 2006
  Tom Archer has published a nice matrix to determine what pieces you need for getting moving with the...

• Anonymous
  July 19, 2006
  MSDN Subscriptions is pleased to bring you the Windows Vista July 2006 CTP (Build 5472).  The July...

• Anonymous
  July 20, 2006
  Tom, Thanks for specifying what build works with what. However, I'm a little confused as to the implications of there being no corresponding "Orcas" July CTP. Does this mean the "Orcas" June CTP will work with the .NET3.0 July CTP? As the .NET3.0 July CTP is a "bug-fix" release and not a "new-feature" release, does this imply I could develop with the .Net3.0/Orcas June CTPs, and deploy to a machine with the .Net3.0 July CTP runtime? Your clarification of this matter would be very helpful.
  Thx

• Anonymous
  July 20, 2006
  Today I knocked together this very simple tool which generates proxy classes which can be used to communicate...

• Anonymous
  July 20, 2006
  Paul Mehner alerted me to the new .NET 3.0 CTP a couple of days ago and suggested that I try...

• Anonymous
  July 21, 2006
  There are actually no Visual Studio “Orcas” development tools for the July CTP!
  Your best bet seems...

• Anonymous
  July 21, 2006
  PingBack from http://billsbaby.com/index.php/2006/07/22/which-vista-and-which-net-30/

• Anonymous
  July 22, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 24, 2006
  The Windows SDK July CTP is live and ready for download. Note that there are many caveats around this...

• Anonymous
  July 24, 2006
  
  Alors qu'il est de bon ton de parler de .NET 3.0 et de ce fait de Vista, une question fondamentale...

• Anonymous
  July 24, 2006
  I am a beta member. How can i download the July CTP of the Vista Operating System. The links i find on the microsoft website say that the Windows vista download is no longer available. Can anybody help?
  
  And thanks tom. it was really confusing before.

• Anonymous
  July 27, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 27, 2006
  Should the June Oracas bits install w/ the July .Net 3.0 runtime?   Getting an error that the runtime is not installed when it is.

• Anonymous
  July 31, 2006
  Enterprise Developers over the years have had the choice between Microsoft's .NET and Java's J2EE framework...

• Anonymous
  July 31, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 01, 2006
  looking forward to it... i already have IE 7, win media 11, and office 2007, and i like the new trimmings!

• Anonymous
  August 02, 2006
  More and more people are interested in exploiting WPF application development as Windows Vista get closer...

• Anonymous
  August 03, 2006
  PingBack from http://ants.is-a-geek.net/CommunityServer/blogs/public_void_blog/archive/2006/08/03/7.aspx

• Anonymous
  August 04, 2006
  Looks good - I'd recommend adding in a column for 'Supported by Go Live License'

• Anonymous
  August 06, 2006
  Thanks for clarifying. Can you answer to the above question someone else asked, about whether the June "Orcas" will work with the July CTP? I have a slow connection here, so avoiding me extra downloads would be great...

• Anonymous
  August 06, 2006
  I have downloaded the setup for Windows SDk Beta 2 (file setup.exe) and WF extensions for Visual Studio.
  When I try to run the WF extensions installation, it finds the file setup.exe and runs it instead without any notice.
  Is this a bug? This behavior is quite confusing for a new user who doesn't know how the installations should look.

• Anonymous
  August 13, 2006
  PingBack from http://mdavey.wordpress.com/2006/08/13/wpf-performance/

• Anonymous
  August 13, 2006
  WF resources

• Anonymous
  August 18, 2006
  Lot of great information thanks alot

• Anonymous
  August 21, 2006
  As we are nearing the release date for Vista, .Net30 and Office 2007, there are many CTPs published for...

• Anonymous
  August 25, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 29, 2006
  I am  not interested to test 32 bit version!
  
  Where I can get a RC windows Vista 64 bit?
  
  
  
  

• Anonymous
  August 29, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 30, 2006
  ok from everything here the most confuing thing is "where do i download windows vista beta 2"? I have looked at everything and nothing tells me a thing.

• Anonymous
  September 01, 2006
  when will th rc1 sdk be released ? right along the vista rc1 release or some time later ?

• Anonymous
  September 03, 2006
  I note that on 9/1/2006 we have a MS Pre release .NET 3.0 Release Candidate.
  
  could the advice be updated. - I am running Vista Beta 2 Build, with Orcas etc, and woul;d like to know whether I get a better VS Developer experience with the .NET Framework 3.0 Release candidate.
  
  I am still waiting for WCF and WWF to be integrated with each other !  

• Anonymous
  September 03, 2006
  I second all requests for an updated map for RC1. I've been waiting since Beta 2 for a complete and synchronized refresh of the development environment. Here's hoping RC1 can support all the latest bits for us developers.

• Anonymous
  September 06, 2006
  PingBack from http://windowsworkflow.wordpress.com/2006/09/06/which-windows-workflow-beta/

• Anonymous
  September 11, 2006
  i want down vista

• Anonymous
  September 12, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  September 13, 2006
  What about RC1?

• Anonymous
  September 22, 2006
  
  My name is Pat Litherland, I'm a new addition to the Program Management team in the Windows SDK group,...

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  September 26, 2006
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• Anonymous
  September 28, 2006
  Well, we made it; the September CTP of the Windows SDK for Vista is available for download! ...

• Anonymous
  September 29, 2006
  The Windows SDK team has now released their September CTP to match the Windows Vista September CTP. While...

• Anonymous
  September 30, 2006
  PingBack from http://codebetter.com/blogs/sam.gentile/archive/2006/09/30/September-CTP_2C00_-Orcas-Tools_2C00_-I_2700_m-So-Confused_2100_.aspx

• Anonymous
  September 30, 2006
  Is it 'safe' (i.e. does nothing break) if I install the May CTP of LINQ on build 5728 of Vista (along with the 5728 compatible Windows SDK). It's really rather anoying that MS has choosen to only make future Orcas CTPs available via Virtual PC rather than giving us MSI's or ISO's. What if we're commited to Vista? Does this mean we won't be able to work with the latest Orcas parts until November when according to connect.microsoft.com the Virtual PC 2007 beta opens (assuming VPC 2K7 behaves on Vista).
  
  Its a little unclear to me how, to quote the Orcas September release notes I can "Build and debug" Vista applications if I can't run the thing on Vista. Tom, any news on when a Orcas / Vista solution will be able?

• Anonymous
  September 30, 2006
  PingBack from http://www.centplus.com/windows-vista-net-30-and-windows-sdk-compatibility-matrixi-originally/

• Anonymous
  October 04, 2006
  I need some clarification about requirement for installing SDK in the following scenario - My dev machine has XP SP2, VS 2005. The documentation for current SDK release says it is for Vista RC1 only. But the doc for the VS2005 dev tools says it needs SDK installed. Does it mean I need to d/l and install the SDK on XP SP2 also?

• Anonymous
  October 05, 2006
  The comment has been removed

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  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 09, 2006
  I cannot see the third column of compatibity matrix, tried on other browsers, same problem exists.

• Anonymous
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  I cannot see the third column of the table of the compatibity matrix.

• Anonymous
  October 16, 2006
  What is RC2? Is it the same as RC1?

• Anonymous
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• Anonymous
  October 20, 2006
  Experiencing problems viewing the complete "Download Locations Matrix"? Just Right Click --> View Source --> Save it to Matrix.html --> replace all "nowrap" with "" --> open it in Matrix.html in browser Raju

• Anonymous
  October 25, 2006
  I am looking at Vista RC2 and see a "checked build" option for each.  Do you know the difference between a "checked build" and a non checked build?

• Anonymous
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  Yes if anyone can explain what the difference is between the standard Vista RC2 and the "checked build" version ??

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