How to determine the operating system service pack level in Visual Basic .NET or in Visual Basic 2005

Steps to Build the Sample

1. Start a new Visual Basic Windows Application in Visual Basic .NET or in Visual Basic 2005.
2. In the Solution Explorer window, right-click References, and then click Add Reference.
3. On the COM tab in the Add Reference dialog box, click Microsoft Internet Controls, and then click Select.
   
   Note In Visual Studio 2005, you do not have to click Select.
   
4. Click OK to close the Add Reference dialog box.
5. In the Solution Explorer window, right-click Form1.vb, and then click View Code.
6. Delete all of the code from the Form1.vb code window.
7. Paste the following code in the Form1.vb code window:

   Option Explicit On 
   Option Strict On
   Imports SHDocVw
   
   Public Class Form1
       Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form
   
   #Region " Windows Form Designer generated code "
   
       Public Sub New()
           MyBase.New()
   
           'This call is required by the Windows Form Designer.
           InitializeComponent()
   
           'Add any initialization after the InitializeComponent() call.
   
       End Sub
   
       'Form overrides dispose to clean up the component list.
       Protected Overloads Overrides Sub Dispose(ByVal disposing As Boolean)
           If disposing Then
               If Not (components Is Nothing) Then
                   components.Dispose()
               End If
           End If
           MyBase.Dispose(disposing)
       End Sub
       Friend WithEvents btnStart As System.Windows.Forms.Button
       Friend WithEvents btnCheck As System.Windows.Forms.Button
       Friend WithEvents btnClose As System.Windows.Forms.Button
   
       'Required by the Windows Form Designer
       Private components As System.ComponentModel.Container
   
       'NOTE: The following procedure is required by the Windows Form Designer.
       'You can use the Windows Form Designer to modify it; however, do not
       'use the code editor to modify it.
       <System.Diagnostics.DebuggerStepThrough()> Private Sub InitializeComponent()
           Me.btnClose = New System.Windows.Forms.Button()
           Me.btnStart = New System.Windows.Forms.Button()
           Me.btnCheck = New System.Windows.Forms.Button()
           Me.SuspendLayout()
           '
           'btnClose
           '
           Me.btnClose.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(66, 176)
           Me.btnClose.Name = "btnClose"
           Me.btnClose.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(160, 23)
           Me.btnClose.TabIndex = 2
           Me.btnClose.Text = "Close Internet Explorer"
           '
           'btnStart
           '
           Me.btnStart.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(66, 72)
           Me.btnStart.Name = "btnStart"
           Me.btnStart.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(160, 23)
           Me.btnStart.TabIndex = 0
           Me.btnStart.Text = "Start Internet Explorer"
           '
           'btnCheck
           '
           Me.btnCheck.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(66, 124)
           Me.btnCheck.Name = "btnCheck"
           Me.btnCheck.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(160, 23)
           Me.btnCheck.TabIndex = 1
           Me.btnCheck.Text = "Check Internet Explorer"
           '
           'Form1
           '
           Me.AutoScaleBaseSize = New System.Drawing.Size(5, 13)
           Me.ClientSize = New System.Drawing.Size(292, 266)
           Me.Controls.AddRange(New System.Windows.Forms.Control() _
               {Me.btnClose, Me.btnCheck, Me.btnStart})
           Me.Name = "Form1"
           Me.Text = "Form1"
           Me.ResumeLayout(False)
   
       End Sub
   
   #End Region
   
       Private WithEvents Browser As InternetExplorer
       Private procs() As Process
   
       Private Sub btnStart_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
               ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnStart.Click
           Me.Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor
           Browser = New InternetExplorer()
           Browser.Visible = True
           Browser.GoHome()
           procs = Process.GetProcessesByName("IEXPLORE")
       End Sub
   
       Private Sub btnCheck_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
               ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnCheck.Click
           'This code assumes that only one instance of Internet Explorer is running.
           Me.Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor
   
           Try
               If procs(0).Responding = True Then
                   MessageBox.Show("IEXPLORE is responding")
               Else
                   MessageBox.Show("IEXPLORE is not responding")
               End If
           Catch
               MessageBox.Show("IEXPLORE is not running")
           End Try
       End Sub
   
       Private Sub btnClose_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
               ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnClose.Click
           Me.Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor
           Try
               If procs(0).Responding Then
                   procs(0).CloseMainWindow()
               Else
                   procs(0).Kill()
                   cleanUp()
               End If
   
           Catch notRunning As Exception When Err.Number = 91
               MessageBox.Show("Could Not Find the IEXPLORE Process")
           Catch lockedUp As Exception When Err.Number = -2147023170
               'Do nothing.
           End Try
       End Sub
   
   
       Private Sub Browser_OnQuit() Handles Browser.OnQuit
           'Clean up if the browser is closed manually.
           cleanUp()
       End Sub
   
       Private Sub cleanUp()
           ReDim procs(0)
           Browser = Nothing
       End Sub
   
   End Class
   

   Note You must change the code in Visual Basic 2005. By default, Visual Basic creates two files for the project when you create a Windows Forms project. If the form is named Form1, the two files that represent the form are named Form1.vb and Form1.Designer.vb. You write the code in the Form1.vb file. The Windows Forms Designer writes the code in the Form1.Designer.vb file. The Windows Forms Designer uses the partial keyword to divide the implementation of Form1 into two separate files. This behavior prevents the designer-generated code from being interspersed with your code.
   
   For more information about the new Visual Basic 2005 language enhancements, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site:
   
   
   http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms379584(vs.80).aspx
   For more information about partial classes and the Windows Forms Designer, visit the following MSDN Web site:
   
   
   http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms171843.aspx
   NOTE: The preceding code draws, positions, and names the three buttons on the form automatically, so you do not need to add them manually.
8. After you paste the code in the Form1.vb code window, you may want to collapse the region that is labeled Windows Form Designer generated code.
9. Press F5 to build and run the project.
10. After Internet Explorer is running, click the buttons on the form to test the code.