Java(TM) Platform SE binary has stopped working

[Guest]

I received the following pop-up from Windows last night:

Java(TM) Platform SE binary has stopped working

A problem caused the program to stop working correctly.
Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is
available.

I can't find anything about this on the MS or Sun sites, so I have to assume
it's either rare or new. Does anyone know what it means? From the message
text I assume it means that windows was terminating the JVM.

This is a new Dell M90, 2.33GHz Core Duo, 2G memory, with Vista Business
version 6.0.6000.

The java version is:

java version "1.6.0-oem"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0-oem-b104)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.6.0-oem-b104, mixed mode)

I teach J2EE classes online, so this is potentially a major problem. There
were no Java apps running, and I have yet to install any IDEs or application
servers. I did have some problems the preceding day with the Sun Secure
Global Desktop 4.20.909 (could not get to login dialog under IE7 or FireFox).

 

[Michael Jennings]

Try 1.6.0-b105 which you can obtain in this way:
http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp
Scroll down to Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 and click download.
Accept the License Agreement. Check the second Windows selection.
Sun isn't allowing you to avoid using their download manager, so click
the orange bar. Tell the download manager where to dump the small file.
Click the small file. Permit it to download and install 1.6.0-b105.

 

[Mickey Segal]

Before installing the latest Sun Java delete the version that came with your
computer.

I've run both 1.6 and 1.7 on Vista, so there should not be any inherent
problem with Java on Vista. Even Microsoft's old Java VM runs on a clean
install of Vista.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, guys. I need to research this a bit more first, though. For example,
I deliver some classes that require the use of the 1.4.2 and 1.5 JDKs (with
JAVA_HOME set appropriately). I'll also be running JBoss, WLS, etc,, with
their preferred settings. Can I expect any issues with these if the 1.6 (or
1.7) JRE is installed?

I'm also interested in understanding why Vista thought the runtime wasn't
"working correctly" and needed to be closed. If I get any info from the Java
forums I'll post it back here.

 

[Mickey Segal]

I've even run Sun Java 1.1 on Vista. There shouldn't be a problem with old
versions, but it sounds like there was a problem with the particular
installation.

 

[Guest]

I've made some progress on this. I suspect the Sun SGD 4.2.909 testing
probably caused the original problem.

It appears that what Windows was actually reporting via "the program will be
closed" dialog was that it was disabling the Java 1.6 plugin in IE7. When I
checked in Manage Add-Ins to see what version of the plugin showed up there,
I saw that the "Java 1.6 Console" was listed but disabled, and the Java
plugin I'd expected to see wasn't listed at all. Once I re-enabled the
console and restarted IE7, "Java(TM) Platform SE environment 6" showed up,
too, and was also enabled.

So, it's not a JVM being killed, just the IE7 plugin, so that probably
wouldn't affect a running JBoss instance. I can probably live with that, and
at least proceed with other installs and testing.

FWIW, I have reinstalled the 1.6 JRE with the latest version (b105). That
didn't help IE7, but I can now get to the SGD login dialog using FireFox.

In IE7,I haven't seen the runtime get disabled yet, but then I haven't
retried SGD over and over either. I'll do that once the server admins give me
a another working id and password (the ones I had have already expired).

 

[Michael Jennings]

If, like any sensible person, you have anti-virus and anti-spyware active,
they could crum up an installation if you leave them running during it.
I apologize for being able to offer only stupid and obvious solutions.