How do I install Java on a Windows box?
The following instructions will help you install the Java Development Kit Standard Edition (J2SE SDK 1.6) for Windows 95 / 98 / NT / 2000 / XP. Before you begin, please ensure that you have already downloaded the installation program from Sun's Site (make sure that you download the SDK, not the JRE).
Instructions for Windows 95/98
- Double-click on the installer. It will take a few minutes for all the files to be extracted so please be patient.
- A license agreement screen will then pop up. After you have read it and agreed to the terms, click on Accept to continue.
- Click Next on the Custom Setup screen.
- During the install you will be prompted to install the Java Runtime Environment. Click Next to install the JRE.
- After the SDK and JRE installations are complete, click Finish.
- Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.
- To test the installation, open up an MS-DOS prompt (Start » Run, type in command, and click OK) and enter the commands java (then press Enter) and javac (then press Enter). If these execute without command not found errors, then the installation was successful.
Instructions for Windows NT/2000/XP
- Double-click on the installer. It will take a few minutes for all the files to be extracted so please be patient.
- A license agreement screen will then pop up. After you have read it and agreed to the terms, click on Accept to continue.
- Click Next on the Custom Setup screen.
- During the install you will be prompted to install the Java Runtime Environment. Click Next to install the JRE.
- After the SDK and JRE installations are complete, click Finish.
- To test the installation, open up a command prompt (Start » Run and type in cmd and click OK) and enter the commands java and javac. If these execute without command not found errors, then the installation was successful.
Further Resources
The Official Sun Java Installation Notes can be found at: Installation Notes for Solaris, Windows, and Linux.