I have the following Java stuff in my add/remove programs. It doesn't mean a whole lot to me, so I'm wondering what I need to keep and what I can dump -- or do I need all of it?

J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 6
Java Web Start
Java™ 6 Update 2
Java™ SE Runtime Environment 6 Update 1

It is ok to uninstall all the older versions of Java, you only need the latest.

Keep Java Web Start and Java™ 6 Update 2.

Uninstall J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 6 and Java™ SE Runtime Environment 6 Update 1.

Always uninstall your current Java installation, before installing new one.

CeeCee, why is that, i always only remove the older versions without any problems. Is there a special reason for you to uninstall them all before installing the latest?

You don't need any special reasons for that. It's very basics things to do uninstall current version on your system, before installing new version.



What you mean with "uninstall them all"? I always got only one version at the time, that i uninstall before installing new version.

Old versions take up space, also.....

Important: Installing or updating Java adds a new JRE version; it does not remove existing versions. It is recommended that you remove older JRE versions from your system, as they may contain security vulnerabilities that allow access to your computer by untrusted applets.

i know for a fact that Java's new versions always install into a new subdirectory in the %programfiles%\java\ folder, so this immediately defeats your reason.

i have the followinf items currently in my %programfiles%\java\ folder:

• jre1.5.0_06
• jre1.6.0_01
• jre1.6.0_02

if i uninstall any old version, the first 2 folders are removed and the last folder remains intact.

Just tell me one good reason, why i should keep that older version (that's currently on my system), when i install new version? That older version is then needless.


Those first 2 versions are totally unneeded. They make more bad than good. Actually they don't make good at all.

i just meant to say that for java, it doesn't matter if you uninstall first and the install the new, or install the new first and the uninstall the old.

So you mean that installing/uninstalling order doesn't matter? Logical order of course is to uninstall older/current version before installing new version.

that is indeed correct, but for java it doesn't matter..

I found that installing the new version and then uninstalling the old, left old registry keys and empty folders that I had to remove manually.

Uninstalling the old first seemed to produce a cleaner end result.

That's the correct way.

Here
This is what i do with my old versions

i would uninstalleverything under java
restart

then go to filehippo.com and download the latest


CHEERS

What does Java web start do by the way?