SOLVED: Cannot Install Dell SAN Headquarters On Windows 10 Because .NET Framework Failed To Install

If you are trying to install SAN Headquarters on a Windows 10 PC you will likely find that it has not (as of yet) been updated to support the .NET 4.6 (note the “6”) or newer.  This means that it is stuck looking for its .NET 4.5 prerequisite and you will see:

Preparing Install for Microsoft .NET 4.5
Executing Microsoft .NET installer
.Net Framework failed to install!  Can not proceed.

You have two options to get around this problem

1. uninstall any .NET patches on the Windows 10 PC, which will roll it back to .NET 4.5
2. Edit the registry so that it THINKS your Windows 10 PC has .NET 4.5:
   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Client\Version
   Change the value from 4.6.xxx to 4.5.xxx
   Note that you will likely have to take ownership of that key to make the change
   Perform the install then change it back to 4.6.xxx

Have a nice day.

I found some of the information on this problem en.community.dell.com/techcenter/storage/f/4466/t/19644751 so if you want more detail, that would be a great place to start 🙂