PC hanging up with javaw.exe & MLS

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
russellhltn
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#21

Post by russellhltn »

Alan_Brown wrote:The version 1 in the Java folder was something I installed explicitly several months ago (I don't have automatic Java updates enabled on this machine).

Maybe you should. There's a reason it's now up to Update 11. Java advisories.

Now how do you tell what version is in the jre6 folder without looking at the MLS log?
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eblood66
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#22

Post by eblood66 »

ericb wrote:One idea regarding the extra instance of javaw.exe -- you might want to check a setting in the Java Control Panel: Start > Control Panel > Java > Advanced tab > Miscellaneous. There is an option for 'Java Quick Starter', which I think was added with Java 6. You could try disabling that to see if the second javaw.exe instance goes away (I normally disable it and 'Place Java icon in system tray').
Another tool that may be useful is Process Explorer from Microsoft (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysi ... 96653.aspx). It can tell you where javaw.exe was started from, what command line was used and what files it has open. That should give a good idea where the extra javaw.exe is coming from.

You can run Process Explorer directly from a flash drive, no installation required.
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ericb
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MLS compatibility problem with Java 6 update 12

#23

Post by ericb »

Alan_Brown wrote:On my test machine, I have JRE6 version 1 installed in C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_01 (pretty obvious from the folder name) and I have JRE6 version 11 installed in C:\Program Files\jre6. The version 1 in the Java folder was something I installed explicitly several months ago (I don't have automatic Java updates enabled on this machine). The version 11 in the JRE6 folder was installed by MLS and is clearly the one being used by MLS.

I wanted to pass along that we've experienced several problems in MLS using the latest JRE - Java 6 update 12. When attempting to generate custom reports nothing would happen, or when selecting to print rolls a generic error message would appear with a frowning face :(.

I looked in the MLS log and noticed several Null Pointer Exceptions related to Swing, which is the Java UI toolkit implemented by MLS. Prior to this latest release we had Java 6 update 1 in place, so I went to the Java site where they have archived releases (http://java.sun.com/products/archive/) and downloaded & installed that version. I then removed Java 6 update 12 since MLS continued to use that version, and I coudn't find a way in the Java Control Panel to disable it. Once we were back to the previous version things started working correctly again.
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aebrown
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#24

Post by aebrown »

RussellHltn wrote:Now how do you tell what version is in the jre6 folder without looking at the MLS log?

There may be an easier way, but I usually just look at the java.exe in the bin folder of the Java Runtime installation. If you right click on java.exe and do Properties, then go to the Details tab, you'll see the File version, for which the first component is the major version, and the third component is 10x the minor version. For example, JRE6 Release 11 will have a file version of 6.0.110.3. Also the Product name is Java(TM) Platform SE 6 U11.
jdlessley
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#25

Post by jdlessley »

ericb wrote:I wanted to pass along that we've experienced several problems in MLS using the latest JRE - Java 6 update 12. When attempting to generate custom reports nothing would happen, or when selecting to print rolls a generic error message would appear with a frowning face :(.

I looked in the MLS log and noticed several Null Pointer Exceptions related to Swing, which is the Java UI toolkit implemented by MLS. Prior to this latest release we had Java 6 update 1 in place, so I went to the Java site where they have archived releases (http://java.sun.com/products/archive/) and downloaded & installed that version. I then removed Java 6 update 12 since MLS continued to use that version, and I coudn't find a way in the Java Control Panel to disable it. Once we were back to the previous version things started working correctly again.
Java can have multiple runtime environments installed on a single system. There is the system wide version that is registered in the registry for use by web browsers and other programs such as OpenOffice. It is the registered version that has a control applet available through the Windows control panel. This control panel applet only interfaces with the registered JRE.

MLS 2.9.3 is deployed using Java(TM) Platform, Standard Edition Runtime Environment Version 6, Update 11. This Java SE Runtime Environment is installed at a separate location from any existing JRE installations to include the registered JRE just discussed. The MLS JRE install location is C:\Program Files\jre6\bin. The registered JRE is installed, by default, at C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin.

The MLS JRE does not interface with the Java control panel applet found in the Windows control panel. The MLS JRE has no user interface for control or information. The MLS JRE is copied to a location separate from all other JREs to ensure non-interference with other installations. MLS is currently developed to use only the JRE it has installed and not the registered JRE.

If the registered JRE is installed at the MLS install location then there can be conflicts. I suspect that during the install of the registered JRE the default location was changed from the default to the MLS location.

To ensure separation of the registered JRE and the MLS JRE I would uninstall all versions of Java found in the Windows control panel Add or Remove Programs applet. Then I would reinstall MLS 2.9.3 to ensure the correct JRE for MLS is installed. The last step would be to install the latest JRE, version 12, in another location. This can be ensured by carefully looking for the install location prompt during the install of Java version 12 and making sure it does not select the MLS JRE install location.

In following these procedures only two JRE versions should exist on an Church administrative (clerk) computer, update 11 for MLS and update 12 for the registered version.

Edit: I forgot to add that there can be more than one registered JRE version installed for the system. When there is more than one version installed and registered you can use the Windows Java control panel applet to select which registered versions you would like enabled. Since the MLS JRE is not registered it is not available to be enabled or disabled. However, you can can register the MLS JRE to be available to other programs. This is done through the Windows Java control panel applet. But I do not recommend this for Church administrative computers.
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ericb
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#26

Post by ericb »

jdlessley wrote:...The MLS JRE is copied to a location separate from all other JREs to ensure of non-interference with other installations. MLS is currently developed to use only the JRE it has installed and not the registered JRE...

Let me clarify the behavior I observed today. A JRE did not exist in c:\Program Files\jre6, so the registered one was used instead (installed in c:\Program Files\Java\jre6) -- that is the only JRE location we have under c:\Program Files. This was confirmed by referring to the MLS log, in relation to the version reported. My understanding is that the JREs should be backward compatible, but obviously there is some compatibility issue with MLS and Java 6 update 12. If update 11 is the officially supported version, then I'll make sure that is what is put in place.

If MLS installs its own JRE to c:\Program Files\jre6 for the purpose of only being used by MLS, I would suggest this be reconsidered -- this location seems somewhat ambiguous. Other Java applications I work with that utilize their own JRE (for example, Oracle's Weblogic) by default install their JRE instance within their own folder structure (in the case of MLS, this would fall under c:\Program Files\LDS Church\MLS). This location helps avoid confusion and prevents inadvertant removal.
jdlessley
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#27

Post by jdlessley »

ericb wrote:Let me clarify the behavior I observed today. A JRE did not exist in c:\Program Files\jre6, so the registered one was used instead (installed in c:\Program Files\Java\jre6) -- that is the only JRE location we have under c:\Program Files.
Since I do not have access to the source code for MLS I cannot tell how they handle the situation where the JRE is missing at the location normally expected. But from what you have observed it looks like MLS then accesses the first available registered JRE.

Since MLS uses a custom launcher for the private application runtime (JRE) there are other executibles and libraries that accompany the distribution and would be found in the location designated in the MLS installation. When the private JRE folder is missing (deleted or moved) then some features that use these executibles and libraries may not function correctly or not at all. I think the behaviors you described after updating to version 12 and with the MLS private JRE install location missing are not surprising. However, I am stumped as to why things are working after installing a previous version of the JRE.
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russellhltn
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#28

Post by russellhltn »

A datapoint:

The machine: A ward computer that is connected via CCN.

Before update:
C:\Program Files\jre6\bin contains 6.0.20.6/1.6.0_02-b06 (Update 2)
C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_07 contains 6.0.70.6/1.6.0_07-b06 (Update 7)
MLS 2.9.3_15066 reports using 1.6.0_02

After running the Java update:
Everything is the same as before. Only now there's a new directory:

C:\Program Files\Java\jre6 contains Update 11
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aebrown
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#29

Post by aebrown »

RussellHltn wrote:A datapoint:

The machine: A ward computer that is connected via CCN.

Before update:
C:\Program Files\jre6\bin contains 6.0.20.6/1.6.0_02-b06 (Update 2)
C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_07 contains 6.0.70.6/1.6.0_07-b06 (Update 7)
MLS 2.9.3_15066 reports using 1.6.0_02

After running the Java update:
Everything is the same as before. Only now there's a new directory:

C:\Program Files\Java\jre6 contains Update 11

Two questions:

Have recent MLS upgrades on this machine been done via the automatic updates during a send/receive? My guess is that the answer is yes, because those upgrades are simply patch upgrades to MLS itself and are unlikely to contain a Java upgrade. Whereas if you do a full install of MLS to do the upgrade, you will get the Java upgrade to the C:\Program Files\jre6 folder, in which case that folder would have been upgraded to Update 11 by the MLS install.

You didn't report what Java version the MLS log said MLS used after the Java upgrade. I assume that MLS would still use the C:\Program Files\jre6 version, so it would still report using Update 2. But it would be good to verify that.
russellhltn
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#30

Post by russellhltn »

Alan_Brown wrote:Have recent MLS upgrades on this machine been done via the automatic updates during a send/receive?
As far as I know, it was done via send/receive. But I can't rule out that the clerks successfully did a "fix" on their own.
Alan_Brown wrote:You didn't report what Java version the MLS log said MLS used after the Java upgrade.
I did check that. "Everything is the same as before" :)
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