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Java claims it's not installed but does not show up


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#1
Traven

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I am having java problems. Anytime I try to run a Java applet it says Java is not installed. So when I go to Sun to try to reinstall it, it gives me the message "This software has already been installed. Do you want to reinstall it?" I click Yes. Then it says "This action is only valid for products that are currently installed." Well, DUH, stupid computer, you just told me it was already installed, so where is it? And the installer program quits.

I've looked in the control panel. No Java icon.
I've tried using the Microsoft Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. Java does not show up as one of the 'problems' to be fixed.

I've checked the settings in both of the browsers I use (MSIE 8, and Firefox 3.5.3) and all of the appropriate check boxes are in fact checked. So now I don't know what to try in order to get Java rolling again. Any ideas and/or suggestions would be helpful. I tried the links in the second post, and followed the steps, but none of them solved my problem. Any other ideas?

I received a response under a different post suggesting I run a program called JavaRa. I did so, and followed the instructions given to download and install Java. I got the same error message. So then I opened JavaRa and tried to 'remove' all old Java files. It appeared to complete successfully. So I rebooted, and then tried to reinstall Java. Same error message! So now I'm stuck again.
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#2
rshaffer61

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Please do the following and let me know if this resolves the problem.

Download TFC by OldTimer to your desktop
  • Please double-click TFC.exe to run it. (Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator).
  • It will close all programs when run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin.
  • Click the Start button to begin the process. Depending on how often you clean temp files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two. Let it run uninterrupted to completion.
  • Once it's finished it should reboot your machine. If it does not, please manually reboot the machine yourself to ensure a complete clean.

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#3
Traven

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Hello,

Program ran and completed fine. It appeared to remove about 96 megabytes or so of old crap. (I just installed XP last week, so it's a fairly new computer) But, same old boring error message when I attempted to (re)install Java. I'm not a novice user, but I'm not a super technically proficient user either. However this problem definitely has me stumped. Maybe I just should give up and go buy Windows 7, eh? Ha ha.
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#4
rshaffer61

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Not that I would say it would fix the problem but I do suggest if you are thinking about moving to Windows 7 it is the time to do it.
It may fix the problems if you are doing a upgrade.
If you do a fresh install it will most likely fix the issue then.
Seeing that you just installed XP then you would not be losing a lot of saved data then.
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#5
rshaffer61

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Please try the following just for a chance at it.
  • Click Start, then click Control Panel. Double-click Add or Remove Programs and look for one or more J2SE or Java 2 Runtime Environment entry/entries. If present, Java is installed, although it may not be the latest version.
  • Check for the presence of a Java Control Panel (click Start, click Control Panel, look for an entry titled Java). If present, Java is installed, although it may not be the latest version.

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#6
Traven

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Yeah, it's not there. I meant to put that in my original post, but forgot to add it when migrating to this new topic. Sorry.

Also, just updated to XP Service Pack 3. Same error. I can't believe Java is giving me this much trouble. If I could just force it to install, all the problems would probably fix themselves. But since it's looking for a reinstall and one doesn't exist, that's what causing the errors.
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#7
rshaffer61

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Have you tried this HERE the Microsoft Windows Installer CleanUp Utility ?
Of not give it a try and then see if Java will install.
Let me know what happens.
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#8
Traven

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Yep, that's the one. Ran it and Java doesn't appear anywhere in the list.

So last night before crashing I tried a different tack. I figured "Ok, so JRE 6 update 16 won't install, what about older versions?" So first I put JRE 6 on. It installed fine. But still no Java icon in the control panel. I figured maybe they didn't come out with the Java icon until later. So I installed JRE 6 update 10. It also installed, but no icon. So then I put JRE 6 update 15 on, and it also installed, but STILL NO ICON. Each time I also tried running the newest update (JRE 6 update 16) and got the same error message as before.

I do have 3 things in my Add/Remove programs now that say I have Java, but they don't appear to have any effect on my browsers or running any java applets either. I'm going to uninstall them and see if perhaps getting rid of them will convince JRE 6 update 16 that I am indeed, truly Java free.
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#9
rshaffer61

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OK thank you for the update.
Good investigative work on your part.
You are doing exactly what needs to be done.
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#10
zbd

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java tester:
http://www.javatester.org/enabled.html


Check if Java is Already Installed

In order to view the lobby and play games, you need to have Java installed and enabled.

To enable and install Java if needed:
1. Go to www.java.com.
2. Click the Do I have Java? link.
3. Click the VERIFY INSTALLATION button.
If prompted to install Java or update your version, follow the prompts to do so.

Note: Alternate methods of determining whether Java is installed on your system include:

* Click Start, then click Control Panel. Double-click Add or Remove Programs and look for one or more J2SE or Java 2 Runtime Environment entry/entries. If present, Java is installed, although it may not be the latest version.
* Check for the presence of a Java Control Panel (click Start, click Control Panel, look for an entry titled Java). If present, Java is installed, although it may not be the latest version
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