Question

I am having some difficulty.

I am trying to set the path on a machine, i have set Java_Home to C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.4.2_01\bin

and Path to C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.4.2_01\bin;C:\Program Files\Common...

yet whenever i do java -version in cmd i get

Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.3.1_01, mixed mode)

any ideas why this might be?

Thanks

Answer 1

First, JAVA_HOME should be set (if it is set) to the root directory of the Java installation, or in your case

C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.4.2_01

Second, JAVA_HOME is an older way of letting programs know where Java resides. It should be set more for “backwards compatibility” and less for “making it work”.

The Path then should have an entry

${JAVA_HOME}\bin

And it is the additional “bin” on the path that will allow the executables to be found. Make sure that this java executable is found on your path first, and you will see a difference in output

Finally, unless you absolutely need Java 1.4, an upgrade is recommended.