See supported System Configurations for information about supported platforms, operating systems, desktop managers, and browsers.
The minimum physical RAM is required to run graphically based applications. More RAM is recommended for applets running within a browser using the Java Plugin. Running with less memory may cause disk swapping which has a severe effect on performance. Very large programs may require more RAM for adequate performance.
This installation requires Windows Installer 2.0 to be on your machine. For more details, see the Troubleshooting the Installation section .
For the amount of disk space required, see Windows Disk Space Requirements.
Note - The JDK has two version numbers -- external version number (6) and an internal version number (1.6.0).
Note - Trying to install the JDK on a non-supported versionof Microsoft Windows or on a machine that doesn't have a sufficientlyup-to-date Service Pack will cause the installer to generate this warning:"We recommend that you do not install this Java platform for the followingreasons: This Java platform does not support the operating system oroperating-system service pack on this machine." See the systemrequirements above for information on supported configurations of Microsoft Windows.
In this procedure, you will run the self-installing executable to unpack and install the JDK software bundle. As part of the JDK, this installation includes an option to include the public Java Runtime Environment. (The JDK also contains a private JRE for use only by its tools.)
For issues related to Windows Online Installation and Java Update, Windows Online Installation and Java Update FAQ. See this note on Proxy Settings and Authentication.
Troubleshooting - If you have any difficulties, see the Troubleshooting section at the end of this document.
Note - For any text on this page containing the following notation, you must substitute the appropriate update version number for the notation.
<version>
For example, if you were downloading the installer for update 1.6.0_01,the following file name:
jdk-6<version>-windows-i586.exe
would become:
jdk-6u1-windows-i586.exe
If you save the self-installing executable to disk without running it from the download page at the web site, notice that its byte size is provided on the download page. Once the download has completed, check that you have downloaded the full, uncorrupted software file.
The file jdk-6u1<version>-windows-i586-i.exe
isthe JDK installer. If you downloaded it instead of running it directlyfrom the web site, double-click on the installer's icon. Then followthe instructions the installer provides. The installer may ask you toreboot your computer. When done with the installation, you can delete the download file torecover disk space.
The JDK has the option of installing public JRE and JavaDB. For more information on JRE installation see the JRE Installation page.
JDK Silent Installation
You can perform a silent JDK installation by using the command-line arguments. The following arguments install JDK silently and provide an option of installing public JRE and JavaDB.
Use the command jdk.exe /s
Use the command jdk.exe /s ADDLOCAL="ToolsFeature,DemosFeature,SourceFeature,JavaDBFeature"
Use the command jdk.exe /s ADDLOCAL="ToolsFeature,DemosFeature,SourceFeature,PublicjreFeature"
Use the command jdk.exe /s ADDLOCAL="ToolsFeature,DemosFeature,SourceFeature"
Use the command jdk.exe /s /INSTALLDIRPUBJRE=c:\test\ /INSTALLDIRJAVADB=c:\testdb\
Note - Some of the arguments work only with 6u15 and higher releases.
You can run the JDK without setting the PATH variable, or you can optionally set it as a convenience.
Should I set the PATH variable?
Set the PATH variable if you want to be able to conveniently run theJDK executables (javac.exe
, java.exe
, javadoc.exe
,etc.) from any directory without having to type the full path of thecommand. If you don't set the PATH variable, you need to specify thefull path to the executable every time you run it, such as:
C:> "\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_<version>\bin\javac" MyClass.java
It's useful to set the PATH permanently so it will persist after rebooting.
How do I set the PATH permanently?
To set the PATH permanently, add the full path of the jdk1.6.0_<version>\bindirectory to the PATH variable. Typically this full path looks somethinglike C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_<version>\bin. Setthe PATH as follows on Microsoft Windows:
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_<version>\bin
Your computer system should now be ready to use the JDK. In this step, you'll run some simple commands to make sure it is working properly.
If you are new to developing and running programs in the Java programminglanguage, see The Java Tutorial online for some guidance. Note especially the tutorial trails underthe heading Trails Covering the Basics.
If you should ever want to uninstall the JDK, use the "Add/Remove Programs" utility in the Microsoft Windows Control Panel.
If you use the Invocation API to launch an application directly rather than using the Java application launcher, be sure to use the correct paths to invoke the Java HotSpot Client Virtual Machine (VM) or Java HotSpot Server VM, as desired. The path within the JDK to the Java HotSpot Client VM is:
jre/bin/client/jvm.dll
(on x86)
The path to the Java HotSpot Server VM is:
jre/bin/server/jvm.dll
(on x86)
jre/bin/server/jvm.dll
(on IA64)
The corresponding locations in the Java SE Runtime Environment begin with jre1.6.0 instead of jre. The Exact VM and Classic VM are no longer part of the JDK, and existing code that uses the Invocation API to launch an application based on old paths to the Exact or Classic VMs will not work.
Below are some tips for working around problems that are sometimes seen during or following an installation. For more troubleshooting information, see the Java FAQ.
C:\Program Files\jdk1.6.0\jre
) whose location is knownonly to the JDK. On the other hand, the public JRE can beused by other Java applications, is contained outside the JDK (typicallyat C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0
), is registered withthe Windows registry (at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft), canbe removed using Add/Remove Programs, might or might not be registeredwith browsers, and might or might not have java.exe copied to the Windowssystem directory (making it the default system Java platform or not).
.txt
extension to the filename. Therefore, a file you name Test.java
is saved as Test.java.txt
. It's important to note that you cannot see the .txt
extension unless you turn on the viewing of file extensions (in Microsoft Windows Explorer, uncheck "Hide file extensions for known file types" under Folder Options). To prevent the .txt
extension, enclose the filename in quotation marks, such as "Test.java"
, when typing it into the Save As dialog box.
On the other hand, Microsoft WordPad does not add a file extension if you provide one -- you must save the file as "Text Document".
To prevent this problem, make sure that the user and system localesare identical, and that the installation path only contains charactersthat are part of the system locale's code page. User and system localescan be set in the Regional Options or Regional Settings control panel.
The associated bug number is 4895647.