SCCM Software Catalog: Adding Microsoft .NET Framework 4

Adding the .NET Framework 4 redistributable to your SCCM Software Catalog lets users self-install it from Software Center, or lets you push it as a required dependency ahead of other application deployments.

Is Plain “.NET Framework 4” Still What You Should Deploy? (Updated for 2026)

Worth checking before you build this exact package. The original “.NET Framework 4” (4.0, not 4.5 and later) reached end of support back in January 2016 and never shipped in-box with any version of Windows. Since 4.5, the .NET Framework 4.x family has been an in-place upgrade model — installing a newer 4.x release (up to today’s 4.8.1) replaces the previous one on the machine and remains backward-compatible with applications that specifically target 4.0 through 4.6.1, without those applications needing to be recompiled. In practice that means most environments are better served deploying current 4.8 or 4.8.1 rather than the old standalone 4.0 installer, unless you have a specific legacy application that’s documented as requiring exactly 4.0 and hasn’t been tested against anything newer. 4.8.1 itself now follows the lifecycle of the parent Windows release it ships on/for (Windows 10 20H2 and later, Windows 11, Server 2022 and later) rather than having its own separate support clock, and current builds of Windows 10/11 keep the .NET Framework component current via normal Windows Update servicing rather than a manual redistributable install. The steps below still work exactly as written if you do specifically need the legacy 4.0 package — the dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe download page remains reachable from Microsoft as of 2026, it’s just no longer the current, actively-serviced release.

Steps

1. Download the offline installer, dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe, from Microsoft and place it in a source folder accessible to your SCCM site server.
2. In the SCCM console, create a new Application (not a legacy package, unless your environment specifically still uses packages), with a manual “Windows Installer” or script-based install type pointing at the downloaded EXE.
3. Set the install command line to:

   dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe /q /norestart

4. Set the uninstall command line if needed, or mark the application as not supporting uninstall if you don’t want to offer removal.
5. Add a detection method that checks for the registry value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full, value name Install, equal to 1 (DWORD).
6. Distribute the content to your distribution points, then deploy it to the appropriate collection and make it available in Software Center.

The /q /norestart switches run the installer silently and suppress the automatic reboot, letting SCCM manage any restart through its own deployment settings instead.

Resources

• Microsoft
• Microsoft Dot Net Framework 4 Download
• Browse our Windows Admin Toolkit picks on Amazon