Driver & Support Assistant always gets "something went wrong", logs show it can't find .Net

[Robert-CH]

I downloaded and installed the DSA version 25.2.15.9. I wanted me to install "windowsdesktop-runtime-8.0.16-win-x86.exe" first, which I did from the place it directed me to. The installations of both went without error. At the end of the DSA installation the DSA tried to run in a browser and failed with the error "Sorry something went wrong while trying to scan". This happened every time I tried to run DSA from the Windows Start menu.

I tried uninstalling (with the DSAUninstaller.exe, which I also now downloaded) and then reinstalling the same installer exe. That didn't help. The two DSA services appeared to be running. I cleared the browser cache. That didn't help either.

I looked round for some logs and found them in C:\ProgramData\Intel\DSA\Logs. Three of them all ended abruptly with an error showing a possible cause (the Tray log, and the logs for the two services):

Error Intel.DSA.Service.Service OnStartTask () OnStart Exception: System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.AspNetCore, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=adb9793829ddae60'. The system cannot find the file specified.||File name: 'Microsoft.AspNetCore, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=adb9793829ddae60'|| at Intel.DSA.Service.Service.StartWcfServices()|| at Intel.DSA.Service.Service.OnStartTask() { }

Although these errors looked fatal, the services still appeared to be alive in Task Manager. There was an icon in the system tray that I could use to run the DSA again and get the same "something went wrong" error.

I'm using Windows 7 Pro on a Lenovo E560 Thinkpad with the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165. The DSA is installed in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Driver and Support Assistant\x86". The missing dotnet component is installed in "C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.AspNetCore.App\8.0.14". These locations seems to match as they should (both x86), so the error message suggests some problem in the product build.

Logs and screenshots of system configuration are attached. In the Programs&Features screenshots I'm a bit mystified that I can see versions of .NET installed long ago but not the part of it installed today.