Trouble registering ChilkatDotNet4.dll to the GAC

Question

I'm trying to add a .NET 4.0 .dll to the GAC. I am attempting to do this because it is published by a 3rd party company as both a 32 and 64bit .dll which I must use from different apps on different platforms in both formats.

At any rate, I am having trouble registering this dll to the GAC on a Windows Server 2008 environment.

I have tried copying gacutil.exe (and supporting file) found at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0A\bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools" on my local machine to the "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319" folder on the target production server per the suggestions found here.

I then tried copying them to "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319".

Running from both locations indicated successful installation. And indeed, the registration appears successful:

• C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\assembly\GAC_64\ChilkatDotNet4\v4.0_9.0.8.0__eb5fc1fc52ef09bd\ChilkatDotNet4.dll
• C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\assembly\GAC_32\ChilkatDotNet4\v4.0_9.0.8.0__eb5fc1fc52ef09bd\ChilkatDotNet4.dll

However, running a console app that refers to the (64bit) version of the dll errors out with the following message:

System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'ChilkatDotNet4.dll' or one of its dependencies. The specified module could not be found. File name: 'ChilkatDotNet4.dll'

So, I have now manually created the following GAC entries using mkdir and copy from a command prompt (which may or may not actually work. I have no clue what is so special about gacutil.exe):

• C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\assembly\GAC_MSIL\ChilkatDotNet4\v4.0_9.0.8.0__eb5fc1fc52ef09bd\ChilkatDotNet4.dll (using the 64bit version of the dll)
• C:\Windows\assembly\GAC_64\ChilkatDotNet4\v4.0_9.0.8.0__eb5fc1fc52ef09bd\ChilkatDotNet4.dll
• C:\Windows\assembly\GAC_32\ChilkatDotNet4\v4.0_9.0.8.0__eb5fc1fc52ef09bd\ChilkatDotNet4.dll

After each "install" of the dll, I tested and received the same error. Any ideas welcome!

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EDIT: the GAC issue above may not actually be the culprit. Turns out, even when I create a brand new Console App project and add the .dll directly (so that it lives in the bin), I still can't run it on the sever. Also, I've noted that Console apps are created targeting the .NET 4.0 Client Profile rather than the .NET Framework 4. When I try to run it targeting the client profile, it appears that none of the System.Web* libraries are available. However, I tried running a very simple test app targeting both and neither would run on the server while referencing the bad .dll.

Is there a special kind of install that was to occur to run .NET 4.0 Console Apps?

Answer 1

For anyone else who may have trouble with this in the future. It was not a generalized problem with the way I was registering the dll to the GAC or how I was referring to it from my projects.

ChilkatDotNet4.dll (and the other versions I'm sure) was built in Visual C++. So, the server it is being deployed to has to have the Visual C++ Runtime installed for the appropriate processor architecture.

For 2010 (.NET 4.0):

• x86
• x64

If you're running an x86 app on a 64-bit platform. Make sure to mark the application pool with "Enable 32-bit applications" = true.