The .NET Framework is an add-on component to Microsoft’s Windows Operating System. It is closely integrated with technologies such as ASP.Net and just about anything with the .NET attachment in place. So what purpose does it serve? The framework is designed with developers in mind, making it possible to create code that serves programs with a wide range of technologies and additional Windows services. It is popular for its security and usability, while being free to obtain if you have a genuine copy of Windows to use it on. The biggest mistake that people make when downloading their .NET Framework and expecting to be up and running comes from the lack of an environment to serve the structure. .NET requires the use of Microsoft IIS. IIS - or Internet Information Services - is an advanced web server, produced by Microsoft to provide an infrastructure for programs such as Windows Server. If you are trying to run the .NET Framework without IIS installed and operational, you will be in for lots of errors. IIS is fundamental to the framework and without it, you’ll be left with nothing. Another issue stems from situations where IIS has been uninstalled and reinstalled, but the paths and keys haven’t been updated for the .NET Framework to run correctly. If you have IIS mapping to the wrong script locations, you will need to update your settings accordingly. To do this, there is a small utility with the name aspnet_regiis.exe. By running this program, you will be able to use ASP.Net and repair the mappings so that the .NET Framework and IIS are on the same page. Also when using ASP.Net on the NET Framework, you may run in to a problem where an error is returned along the lines of the one below: Access denied to ‘C:\Inetpub\Wwwroot’ directory. Failed to start monitoring directory changes. Server cannot access application directory ‘C:\Inetpub\Wwwroot\ Virtual Directory Name \’. The directory does not exist or is not accessible because of security settings. Both errors indicate a problem with the security permissions for the wwwroot, which will affect the accessibility of .NET Framework applications. You will need to add read, execute and list capabilities to the .NET account via the advanced properties of the root folder. This should clear up any access violations and enable use of the framework. We can’t stress highly enough the importance of keeping your .NET Framework version up to date and current with the latest technologies. Web server technology is constantly evolving and if you try to use the latest applications on an ageing framework, you’ll be confronted with all kinds of compatibility errors. Make a habit of downloading the latest Microsoft .NET Frameworks as and when they become available, including all security patches and service packs, of which there are plenty. Finally, it’s important to have an effective registry cleaner ad to make good use of it by clearing out your old .NET framework settings as they become corrupt. The .NET Framework adds many keys to the registry and running a sweep of the registry once a month should fix up most stray errors along the way.