Where to find a full .NET Framework 3.5 beta 2 layout on a VS 2008 beta 2 DVD

Yesterday, I posted a set of instructions that can be used to download the components that make up the .NET Framework 3.5 beta 2 in order to create a network or CD-based install point that will not require any downloads during setup.

As a reader pointed out in the comments of that post, there is a much easier way to assemble this install point if you already have downloaded a copy of VS 2008 beta 2.  From your VS 2008 beta 2 DVD, you can go to the \wcu\dotnetframework folder and copy the entire contents to a network share or a CD, and then run dotnetfx35setup.exe from there to install the .NET Framework 3.5 beta 2 without needing to download any additional components.

If you follow the steps in my previous blog post, you will see that you end up assembling the equivalent of that folder structure.  Those steps are primarily useful for folks who do not want to have to download the entire VS 2008 beta 2 DVD ISO in order to get access to the .NET Framework 3.5 beta 2 bits to create a network or CD-based install for it.

Note that you can use the same size reduction tricks described in my previous blog post - meaning that you can remove Windows Vista-specific components if your product is not going to support that OS, you can remove downlevel components if your product is only going to support Windows Vista, and you can remove x86 or x64 components if your product is processor-specific.  These size reduction steps can be helpful if you are trying to fit the .NET Framework 3.5 beta 2 and your product onto a single CD for redistribution and you're running out of space to fit everything on the disc.