As mentioned on the previous page, nLite requires the .NET Framework to be present, although a new method has been provided which avoids this requirement. If you will be using nLite to create an installation CD for another computer (not the one you are using), and you do not have the .NET Framework installed, then you can use either method. Sooner or later, you'll probably encounter a program that requires .NET anyway, so it's my suggestion that you just install it now and get it over with.

The recommended way to obtain the .NET Framework version 1.1 is to get it from Windows Update (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com), as that will automatically download all of the latest service packs for it as well. The other option is to download the package from the Microsoft Download Center, as well as the latest Service Pack:

.NET Framework 1.1 Redistributable clicky

.NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1 clicky

If the .NET Framework stole your cat, and you have a personal grudge against it, then you will probably choose to use nuhi's pre-packaged runtime files.

The nLite download page is located at http://nuhi.msfn.org/download.html. Those of you who WILL be using the official .NET Framework should download the installer, while those of you who are using the pre-packaged runtime files should download the self-extracting archive, as it does not check for the presence of .NET, as well as the "nLite Alternative Runtimes".

Since I have the .NET Framework installed on my work machine, I'll download the installer, but I'll provide some screenshots for the alternative method. The nLite installer uses the standard wizard interface that everyone is familiar with, so I won't bother providing screenshots for it.

As of the time of this writing, the newest version of nLite available is 0.99.7 beta, and that is the version I have used throughout this guide. When a new version becomes available, I will update this guide to reflect the important changes.