Configuring the Sun Java Environment

If you experience poor system performance, you may need to make adjustments to your Sun Java. By default, the memory available for Sun Java version 1.5 update 6 to 1.6 update 7 is very limited.

The recommended Sun Java version is 1.6 update 10 or above, because it uses the latest Java technology to access more memory and improve system performance.   Download

You can manually increase the memory limit for the Java version 1.6 update 7 or below, if your system allows.

This topic contains the procedures for identifying your Sun Java version and configuring a memory limit increase; as well as removing old Sun Java versions.

If your performance does not improve after following this procedure and you use a multiple monitor system, you may need to upgrade your graphics card software. For more information, see Graphics Card Drivers.

To configure your Sun Java environment

Step one: identify your Sun Java version

  1. Click Start, then select Control Panel from the pop-up menu.

  2. In the Windows Control Panel, open Java. This may be located under Other Control Panel Options.

  3. Activate the Java tab.

  4. In the Java Applet Runtime Settings section, click View. The Java Runtime Settings dialog box opens. The Version column displays the version number with the relevant update separated by an underscore. For example, 1.6.0_05 is version 1.6 update 5.

Note: The recommended Sun Java version for this application is 1.6 update 10 or above. This version automatically provides a larger amount of Java memory so that you do not need to manually increase the memory limit.

 

Step two: increase your Sun Java memory

  1. If your version of Sun Java is 1.6 update 7 or below, do one the following:

Upgrade Sun Java

Note: Clients using a Firefox browser need Firefox 3 or higher to run Sun Java 1.6 update 10.

Configure a Java memory increase

  1. Double-click the Java Runtime Parameters field for the most recent version in the list. An edit box displays. You may need to resize the columns to see this field.

  2. Type the text string for the amount of memory that you want to make available. You can increase the Java memory to a value of 128MB, or up to 512MB if your system allows.

The following table lists case-sensitive text strings and the correlating amount of memory they specify:

Java Runtime Parameters

Amount of memory

-Xmx128m

128MB

-Xmx192m

192MB

-Xmx256m

256MB

-Xmx512m

512MB

  1. Click OK.

  1. Restart the PC for the new Java version or memory changes to take effect.

Tip: If the browser displays errors such as "The Java Runtime Environment cannot be loaded" or "Application Error. The memory could not be read", repeat this procedure and re-configure the memory limit to a lower value.

 

To remove old versions of Sun Java

Retaining multiple versions of Java can cause problems when running this application. Remove the old versions that remain when you upgrade Java.

  1. Click Start, then select Set Program Access and Defaults from the pop-up menu.

  2. Select Change or Remove Programs. A list of currently installed programs displays.

  3. Select the outdated Java version in the list, then click Remove. A confirmation message displays.

  4. Repeat step 3 if you have more than one outdated Java version installed.

  5. Click Yes. The Java version is removed.

See Also