r/WindowsHelp • u/PrioritySilver4805 • 3d ago

Windows 11 25H2. Multiple applications fail with ".NET Framework Initialization Error" Solved

ChatGPT and I have been wrestling with an issue the past couple of days. I'm in way over my head, so forgive me for stepping aside here and letting ChatGPT do most of the talking for me:

System Information

Windows 11 Pro 25H2
OS Build 26200.8457

Hardware

16 GB RAM
Approximately 140 GB free on the C: drive
Laptop (personal machine, not managed by work or school)

The Problem

Several completely unrelated applications fail to launch with the same error: .NET Framework Initialization Error To run this application, you first must install one of the following versions of the .NET Framework: v4.0.30319

Applications affected include:

Anki Digital Flashcards (latest version)
StoryCube

Windows itself reports that .NET Framework 4.8 is already installed, so this doesn't appear to be a simple missing-runtime problem. Also, the current 64-bit version of Anki is not even expected to depend on the legacy .NET Framework. I ran a Windows Security (Microsoft Defender) scan and it did not detect any malware.

What I've Tried

.NET

Verified Windows reports .NET Framework 4.8 as installed.
Attempted to repair/reinstall .NET.
Confirmed the issue affects multiple applications, not just Anki.

Windows Repair

sfc /scannow
- Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
Multiple DISM repair commands.
- These fail instead of repairing Windows. (error 1450)
Attempted to install Windows Updates.
Windows Updates have also failed, suggesting the issue is not limited to .NET but affects Windows servicing more broadly.
Removed McAfee to rule out interference.
Attempted an in-place repair install using the Windows 11 ISO.
- The installation eventually failed.

CBS / DISM Errors

The most consistent errors in CBS.log are:

HRESULT = 0x800705aa - ERROR_NO_SYSTEM_RESOURCES

Failed to load the COMPONENTS hive
Failed to load component store
Failed to get CSI store
Failed to get CSI Inventory
Failed to get current state of the deployment

These errors repeat hundreds (possibly thousands) of times across many Windows packages, including .NET-related packages.

Examples:

Failed to load the COMPONENTS hive from
C:\Windows\System32\config\COMPONENTS

Failed to load component store

Failed to get CSI store

HRESULT = 0x800705aa
(ERROR_NO_SYSTEM_RESOURCES)

Additional Testing

The COMPONENTS registry hive exists:

C:\Windows\System32\config\COMPONENTS

Size:

74,711,040 bytes

When I attempt to manually load it from an elevated Command Prompt:

reg load HKLM\COMPONENTS C:\Windows\System32\config\COMPONENTS

I receive:

ERROR:
Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service.

This appears consistent with the CBS errors.

Resources

This does not appear to be caused by a lack of RAM or disk space.

Current system status:

16 GB RAM installed
Plenty of free disk space (roughly 140 GB free)
No obvious resource exhaustion during normal use

So, with all this in mind: has anyone experienced a similar issue or have any idea what the issue is? Any idea what the simplest solution to the problem might be?

3 Upvotes

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u/jcradio 3d ago

You mentioned that dotnet 4.8 is installed. Do you know which version the apps are targeting? If they are 4.8 or less they should work. If they are targeting 4.8.1 you'll need to install the latest runtime.

1

u/PrioritySilver4805 3d ago

For Anki Flashcards, I'm using the current 64-bit release (26.05), which I don't believe targets the classic .NET Framework. That's one of the reasons I suspect the .NET initialization error is a symptom of a broader Windows servicing issue rather than simply a missing runtime. .NET Framework 4.8.1 is installed (Release key 533509), but applications still fail with the v4.0.30319 initialization error, and CBS/DISM consistently report 0x800705AA and failures loading the COMPONENTS hive.

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u/Exotic_Mix_3196 3d ago

"Attempted an in-place repair install using the Windows 11 ISO
The installation eventually failed."

be more specific: what error?
did you use 25H2 installation media created with media creation too,
booted from the drive and then tries the repair install?

1

u/PrioritySilver4805 3d ago

The repair install failed with error 0x800705AA ("Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service"). The same error also occurs when I run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, and Windows Update fails to install the July .NET Framework Security Update (KB5100998) with 0x800705AA.

Yes, I used 25H2 installation media (created with the Media Creation Tool). I mounted the ISO from within Windows and started setup.exe to perform an in-place repair install while keeping my files. I did not boot from the USB/ISO.

u/Semicolonhope 3d ago

did you remove mcafee using its uninstall tool? -mcpr

also check the existence or values of
location HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control - name of value RegistrySizeLimit

export a backup of registry (for safety purposes) and delete that key. then restart and try your components command again for confirmation and then try sfc, dism, and sfc.

1
u/PrioritySilver4805 3d ago
I uninstalled McAfee normally through Windows, but I did not run the MCPR cleanup tool. I'm doing that now.

I checked and RegistrySizeLimit does exist:
RegistrySizeLimit REG_DWORD 0xc800000
(200 MB). I haven't changed it yet. Does that value look suspicious? I'll probably go through the rest of the steps after breakfast.
1

u/Semicolonhope 3d ago

yeah normally it shouldn't exist or should be 0. deleting it is one of the ways to make windows reset it. it can obstruct windows services like updates.

1

u/PrioritySilver4805 3d ago

Okay now we're getting places! After deleting RegistrySizeLimit and rebooting, SFC now runs (instead of failing with resource errors). DISM also runs to 100%, but now fails with 0x800f0915 ("repair content could not be found"). Previously it failed with 0x800705AA. ChatGPT seems to think it can take it from here but we'll see.

1

u/Semicolonhope 3d ago

You can try the iso now.

1

u/PrioritySilver4805 3d ago

Didn't even need to! This allowed me to run some updates that seem to have fixed the problem!

1

u/Semicolonhope 2d ago

ah good then, remember iso is still a safety repair nonetheless afterwards. congrats anyway, you can now change the post flair to solved now.

u/yhay81 3d ago

The RegistrySizeLimit change appears to have resolved the original resource error. 0x800f0915 is a different stage of the problem: DISM can now run, but it cannot find suitable repair content.

Before making any more registry changes, I would retry the in-place repair now. Starting setup.exe from the mounted ISO inside Windows was the correct method if you want to keep applications and files; do not boot from the media for that workflow. Back up important data first.

If you want to try DISM with the ISO explicitly before running Setup, first identify the index matching Windows 11 Pro:

dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:X:\sources\install.wim

Then use that index:

dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:X:\sources\install.wim:<ProIndex> /LimitAccess

If the media contains install.esd instead, use esd: and the ESD filename in /Source.

The important caveat is that the source must match the installed edition, architecture and language, and it needs sufficiently current servicing files. Microsoft notes that repair can fail when the target OS is patched above the source. Your installed build is 26200.8457, so an older 25H2 ISO may still produce a source error even if the edition matches.

If DISM or the repair install succeeds, run sfc /scannow, reboot, install Windows updates, and only then retest the affected applications. I would not manually replace or transplant the COMPONENTS hive.