Can't find System.Workflow assembly in .NET. How do I get it?

c# visual-studio-2008 sharepoint moss workflow-foundation
Steve picture Steve · Dec 23, 2009 · Viewed 11.9k times · Source

I've installed a complete SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 on my dev box + the latest Visual Studio (SP1) + the latest full Windows SDK. According to the Windows Workflow Foundation page http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/dd980558.aspx, that is all I should need to do to be able program against the .NET Workflow APIs.

And yet, all of the projects I build from the standard Workflow templates refer to the assembly System.Workflow and VS complains that that assembly isn't available. I've searched around on my hard drive, and I can't find a file for that assembly anywhere obvious on my disk.

I do find some files that look like they might be that assembly, but they're buried down in wacky places below particular applications like they are runtime support for that app. They don't seem to be what I'm supposed to point VS at.

Can anyone tell me how to fix this problem? Do I need to install something else that I have yet to come across? Are these assemblies already on my system and I just need to know how to point VS at them? I'm stumped.

BTW: I was going to try uninstalling and reinstalling VS, but the installer fails with some very cryptic error message when I try to uninstall.

TIA for any help, and Happy Holidays to all!!!

Answer

Steve picture Steve · Dec 25, 2009

I did a Repair using the .NET 3.5 SP1 SDK distributable, and I believe that this solved the problem. I thought at first that it didn't (as I say in prior comments) because I was looking for the files to show up in the v3.5 assembly directory. The missing files actually go in the v3.0 assembly directory. I later brought up one of the sample projects in VC and noticed that the symbols were now resolving, and sure enough, the missing .dll files were now present.

So I guess that the .NET SDK installer that ships with VS somehow didn't install these .dll files. It took doing a Repair on the SDK to fix the problem.

I'm a happy camper now!

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