. NET 2.0 to 3.5 These version shares the same runtime and the version starts with 7 followed by the build number. The file that will tell us the version being used is mscorwks.dll. You may choose other files as well, but this one will be present both in the file system if you want to check it in general as in a dump file. To check in the file system which version of. NET you are using, navigate to the. NET install folder (normally C:\ Windows\ Microsoft. NET\ Framework\v 7 locate file mscorwks.dll, right click and choose Properties in the context menu. The full version will be in the details tab: The version is 7.8645. What is important here is the build number (8645) which will tell how recent it is compared to RTM ( Release to Manufactory) version. It also will tell if you need a particular update. For example, KB 2898868 includes hotfix to resolve some security issues. The notes in file information tells us that mscorwks.dll was updated to 7.8000. As 8645 is more recent than 8000 this security update is already incorporated in the built. Just be careful here because sometimes the update applies to other components and you should verify the file affected against yours. If you try to install an update already installed you will be alerted, so feel free to apply the patch “just in case”. If you have a dump file or is performing a live debug with Win Dbg, you can check the version with command lmv m mscorwks as below: 0:000> lmv m mscorwks start end module name 00000642`7f `7fcdc000 mscorwks (deferred) Image path: C:\ WINDOWS\ Microsoft. NET\ Framework64\v 7\mscorwks.dll Image name: mscorwks.dll Timestamp: Wed May (4 BEA38 FC) Check Sum: D95 F Image Size: AC000 File version: 7.4455 Product version:.
First of all, file versions and assembly versions need not coincide with each other. I recommend that file versions change with each build. But, don’t change assembly versions with each build just so that you can tell the difference between two versions of the same file; use the file version for that. Deciding when to change assembly versions takes some discussion of the types of builds to consider: shipping and non-shipping. Non- Shipping Builds In general, I recommend keeping non-shipping assembly versions the same between shipping builds. This avoids strongly-named assembly loading problems due to version mismatches. Some people prefer using publisher policy to redirect new assembly versions for each build. I recommend against that for non-shipping builds, however: it doesn’t avoid all of the loading problems. For example, if a partner x-copies your app, they may not know to install publisher policy. Then, your app will be broken for them, even though it works just fine on your machine. But, if there are cases where different applications on the same machine need to bind to different versions of your assembly, I recommend giving those builds different assembly versions so that the correct one for each app can be used without having to use Load From/etc. Shipping Builds As for whether it’s a good idea to change that version for shipping builds, it depends on how you want the binding to work for end-users. Do you want these builds to be side-by-side or in-place? Are there many changes between the two builds? Are they going to break some customers? Do you care that it breaks them (or do you want to force users to use your important updates)? If yes, you should consider incrementing the assembly version. But, then again, consider that doing that too many times can litter the user’s disk with outdated assemblies. When You Change Your Assembly Versions To change hardcoded.
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