To install this, simply go to the Java home page (java.sun.com) and look for the link for Java SE (below Popular Downloads on the right-hand side). I would normally recommend installing the latest stable version (which at the time of writing was Java 6 update 7) but I had problems installing this on my Vista notebook, so I installed the release candidate of Java 6 update 10 instead.
Full installation instructions are available from sun but here I show you how I completed the process on my machine.
C:\Java rather than C:\Program Files\Java (the installation directory will be C:\Java\jdk1.6.0_X)<html><object classid=“clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000” width=“799” height=“616”> <param name=“movie” value=“http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/60d3dfe2-5a4e-41f5-9b8b-137403d101c4/bootstrap.swf”></param> <param name=“quality” value=“high”></param> <param name=“bgcolor” value=“#FFFFFF”></param> <param name=“flashVars” value=“thumb=http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/60d3dfe2-5a4e-41f5-9b8b-137403d101c4/FirstFrame.jpg&content=http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/60d3dfe2-5a4e-41f5-9b8b-137403d101c4/install java.swf&width=799&height=616”></param> <param name=“allowFullScreen” value=“true”></param> <param name=“scale” value=“showall”></param> <param name=“allowScriptAccess” value=“always”></param> <embed src=“http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/60d3dfe2-5a4e-41f5-9b8b-137403d101c4/bootstrap.swf” quality=“high” bgcolor=“#FFFFFF” width=“799” height=“616” type=“application/x-shockwave-flash” allowScriptAccess=“always” flashVars=“thumb=http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/60d3dfe2-5a4e-41f5-9b8b-137403d101c4/FirstFrame.jpg&content=http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/60d3dfe2-5a4e-41f5-9b8b-137403d101c4/install java.swf&width=799&height=616” allowFullScreen=“true” scale=“showall”></embed> </object></html>
java -version. If Java is correctly installed it should report something like java version “1.6.0_10-rc”. If you want to run the compiler (javac), document generator (javadoc) or other tools, you need to set your system's PATH variable to include the installation directory you just created. The next video covers these steps. But in summary:JAVA_HOME and set it to the Java installation directory you chose at the previous step.%JAVA_HOME%\bin; (note the semicolon!) to the front of the PATH variable.javac works.<html><object classid=“clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000” width=“799” height=“615”> <param name=“movie” value=“http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/aa74be8f-7c8a-42c3-af05-4c8cf73c5585/bootstrap.swf”></param> <param name=“quality” value=“high”></param> <param name=“bgcolor” value=“#FFFFFF”></param> <param name=“flashVars” value=“thumb=http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/aa74be8f-7c8a-42c3-af05-4c8cf73c5585/FirstFrame.jpg&content=http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/aa74be8f-7c8a-42c3-af05-4c8cf73c5585/verify java installation.swf&width=799&height=615”></param> <param name=“allowFullScreen” value=“true”></param> <param name=“scale” value=“showall”></param> <param name=“allowScriptAccess” value=“always”></param> <embed src=“http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/aa74be8f-7c8a-42c3-af05-4c8cf73c5585/bootstrap.swf” quality=“high” bgcolor=“#FFFFFF” width=“799” height=“615” type=“application/x-shockwave-flash” allowScriptAccess=“always” flashVars=“thumb=http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/aa74be8f-7c8a-42c3-af05-4c8cf73c5585/FirstFrame.jpg&content=http://content.screencast.com/users/cpjobling/folders/Jing/media/aa74be8f-7c8a-42c3-af05-4c8cf73c5585/verify java installation.swf&width=799&height=615” allowFullScreen=“true” scale=“showall”></embed> </object></html>
Important note for Vista Users:
If you attempt to install Java 6 update 7 and the installation stops with an Error 1721 follow the advice given here to turn off virus checking, scan for spyware, and temporarily disable the UAC (User Access Control) feature for your account and reinstall from the installer that you downloaded in the previous step. It may work (although for me it didn't). Java 6 update 10 RC did work for me.
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