Install .NET 3.5 on Windows Server 2019

This article will demonstrate how to install .NET 3.5 on Windows Server 2019. Unfortunately, some software still requires the older version of .NET making system administration of modern OS’s more difficult than it should be. If the original installation of Server 2019 did not include .NET 3.5, you will have to either mount the .ISO installation media or make a copy of the installation directory for .NET 3.5 and copy it to your host.

Feature installation failed for .NET 3.5

If you receive an error message when trying to install .NET 3.5 in the Server Manager, it’s likely because the server does not have the source files to install the Feature. You will have to proceed with the following steps to successfully install .NET 3.5 on a modern Operating System.

For example, the error message may be similar to this message: The request to add or remove features on the specified server failed. Installation of one or more roles, role services, or features failed. Error: 0x800f0950

Steps to install .NET 3.5 on Windows Server 2019

To install .NET 3.5 on Windows Server 2019 with the Server Manager Roles and Features, follow these steps.

1. Mount the installation media .ISO to the server.
2. Copy the \Sources\SxS folder from the .ISO to the local server
3. Open Server Manager and navigate to Manage -> Add Roles and Features.
4. For Installation Type, select Role-based or feature-based installation
5. For Server Selection, skip and click Next
6. For Server Roles, skip and click Next
7. For Features, select .NET Framework 3.5 Features and the .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0) option. The remaining options are optional.
8. For Confirmation, click the Specify an alternate source path link at the bottom of the screen.
9. Enter the path to the SxS folder you copied to the server in the previous step in the Path text field and click OK.
10. Click Install

Congratulations. You have successfully installed .NET 3.5 on Windows Server 2019.

Conclusion

This article has demonstrated the steps required to install .NET 3.5 on Windows Server 2019. These steps can be followed for any server where .NET 3.5 is not installed. Let us know in the comments if you have any questions. If this article was helpful, please read more of our content.