Java Questions

I noticed Java updates were available and began updating my computers today.

One Win XPSP3 updated to Sun Java Runtime Environment 6 Update 33 and the other to Sun Java Runtime Environment 7 Update 5, with me using the update choice in the Java Control Panel.

On my Win 7 laptop, there is no update tab in Java Control Panel and I am at 6 Update 31.

Since I could not update from there, I went looking for information at java.com. I found this:

Java for 64-bit browsers
Users should download 64-bit Java software, if they are running 64-bit browsers. For downloading 64-bit Java click 64-bit manual download
Note: At this time, Online Installation and Java Update features are not available for 64-bit architectures. This means that you will not see an Update tab as part of the Java Control Panel. You can manually update Java on 64-bit Windows by running the latest Java 64-bit offline installer

I have IE9 on the laptop and I believe both it and Firefox 13.01 are 64-bit.

Is it necessary to uninstall the old version of Java, or can I just download and install the new?

Also, does it make any difference in having 6 Update 33 vs 7 Update 5? I’m just an ordinary user with no plans to be developing anything Java.

 

Latest Java update is Version 7 Update 5 http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp

And here is the All Java Section.http://java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

Nope not that i see i do not see any difference unless your a Developer i guess i am guessing that the newer version 7 has some bug patchs in it.

 

Since most Java-based applications (OpenOffice, LibreOffice) now recognize Java 7, I would go for Java 7. Uninstall any older Java versions before installing the latest Java 7 RTE.

As for 64-bit operating systems, you should install both 32-bit and 64-bit JRE. It is very unfortunate that the installer does not do that automatically.

 

But there is Waterfox, the highly optimized 64-bit version of Firefox.

 

Thank you for all the replies.

Hmmmh, it was much easier when everything was 32-bit. How do I check on my own computer to see whether IE9 is 32 or 64-bit? I got whatever Microsoft was pushing in the Automatic Updates. How do I go about choosing one version over the other?

If both are 32-bit, then I can just install JRE7 Update 5 32-bit. But, if IE9 happens to be 64-bit then I will need the JRE7 Update 5 64-bit also. Is that correct? Is that what you have already done? And is that working OK?

 

If you are on a 64-bit operating system, then it's best to install both 32-bit and 64-bit JRE; this way you don't have to worry about anything.

Except, from what I heard, that the 32-bit JRE will auto-update, but the 64-bit will not.