Installing the .NET framework from a USB drive, if necessary

Question

We have a .NET application that will be distributed via a USB drive. End users will mount the drive and double-click on the EXE (.NET exe) to start it WITHOUT installing it.

Now the problem is that if .NET is not installed, we would like to run the .NET installer, rather than displaying the default boot message that MS installed there. The installer will be distributed with the application via USB.

One way to do this could be by replacing the PE stub in the .NET executable. But I don’t see the / STUB switch in the C # compiler (although it had C compilers).

What else can you think of?

Update: thanks to Tim Robinson, I understand that Windows does not handle the PE stub. Therefore, the ClickOnce solution seems the only viable. I will check ClickOnce.

Answer 1

Why not use ClickOnce and it will do it all for you.

Answer 2

You can check this episode from Hanselminutes

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/HanselminutesPodcast138PaintNETWithRickBrewster.aspx

He talks to the creator of Paint.NET, who finishes doing some pretty creative things with the installer.