.NET hell

I don't know what MORON at Microsoft thought that:

1) it was a good idea to not make .NET 2.0 and 3.5 available for windows 8.1 downloadable separately.
2) it was a good idea to not include it to be easily installed VIA a USER INTERFACE, that end users REALLY like using DISM to install .net 3.5
3) it made sense that when you install it via the add/remove windows programs - THAT IT GOES TO THE INTERNET and then promptly fails.
4) it was a good idea to push an update that makes the .NET 2.0 & 3.5 no longer install ??!?!?!?!

Because we all know how stable going to a website goes. Never mind that many big companies have proxies that aren't that friendly to install updates or applications over.

Today I spent most of the day trying to get .NET 2.0 and 3.5 installed on a FRESHLY installed Windows 8.1.  I think my BIGGEST mistake was installing all the updates BEFORE trying to install .NET.  If I ran DISM from the install CD, it told me the source for the software was missing. I checked the CD, the path was correct.  I ran the DISM from another install CD, that a colleague had used and it worked for him. Did not work.

I tried the install via the add/remove which tells you it's going to download from Microsoft but then tells you that you have no internet, and when you click on the help for the error it gives, it loads a page in IE from the INTERNET - which it COULD NOT FUCKING FIND!!!  BUT it can always find it when creating a USER account, FUNNY that

I tried on a direct connection, where there is no proxy. It failed the same saying I had no internet.  Then I had a colleague with more patience then I, attempt 3 different ways to fix/restore to get the "DISM" way to work, and that failed as well.

Now re-installing Windows 8.1, after reformatting the hard disk,  this time I did not install the 60+ updates that came since the BIG UPDATE from April and .NET 2 & 3.5 did end up installing successfully.