Installation Error: MaxCut Installation Stuck on .NET Framework 4.8

If your MaxCut installation is stuck at the point where it tries to install Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8, here are some steps on how to resolve it.

🚫 The Symptom

When running the MaxCut installer, it pauses or hangs at the step:

“Installing Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8…”

There are two typical causes for this issue:

1.  .NET 4.8 is already installed on your machine, but the installer has failed to detect it and is attempting a redundant installation (which can fail silently or produce errors like 0x80092004)
2. Something in your Windows setup is causing the .NET 4.8 installation to fail in the background silently.

✅ How to Resolve the Issue

1. Restart Your Computer

It may sound basic, but if you recently installed or updated .NET 4.8, a reboot is sometimes required for the changes to fully apply before the MaxCut installer will recognize that .NET 4.8 is present.

🔄 Try restarting your PC and then launching the MaxCut installer again.

2. Repair the .NET Framework Installation

If restarting doesn’t help:

• Download the Microsoft .NET Framework Repair Tool.

• Run the tool to scan for issues and apply fixes.

• Restart your computer.

• Try the MaxCut installation again.

3. Reinstall .NET Framework 4.8

If repairing doesn’t work, a full reinstall may be needed:

• Uninstall the existing .NET 4.8 (via “Turn Windows features on or off”).

• Download the installer from Microsoft:

  👉 https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet-framework/net48

• Reinstall .NET Framework 4.8.

• Restart your PC again.

• Retry the MaxCut installer.

4. Manual Workaround: Install MaxCut on a different Machine and Transfer

If the installer still refuses to cooperate, you can install MaxCut on a different machine and copy the installed files across to this machine. This is the ultimate workaround. Steps on how to do this can be found in the article Manually installing MaxCut from one machine to another.