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Determining Java version on a Windows 7 system

To determine the version of Java installed on a Windows 7 system, take the following steps, which should also work on other versions of Windows, though you may need to look for "Programs" rather than "All Programs" for the first method, depending on your version of Windows.

Method 1

Click on the Windows Start button, normally at the lower left-hand corner of the screen.
Select All Programs. Scroll down until you see the Java group, then select it and "Configure Java" within it. You will then see a Java Control Panel window appear.
Click on the About button in the Java Control Panel window. An About Java window will appear telling you the version of Java that is installed on the system.

Method 2

Obtain a command prompt by clicking on the Windows Start button then typing cmd and hitting return. At the command prompt type java -version and hit return.

C:\>java -version
java version "1.8.0_25"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_25-b18)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 25.25-b02, mixed mode, sharing)

The version information displayed above is "1.8.0_25". The first method displayed "Version 8 Update 25" for the same version. The number after the underscore in the output from the command line, i.e. "25", is the build number for that version. A version can have many build numbers before the developer increments the version number.

You can determine what version of Java is the latest or download the latest version from www.java.com.

[/software/java] permanent link

Determining Version of JRE

If you have Sun Microsystem's Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on a system, you can check its version by obtaining a command prompt and entering the command java -version.

C:\>java -version
java version "1.6.0_07"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_07-b06)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 10.0-b23, mixed mode, sharing)

If you selected the default install directory, the JRE software will likely be stored in C:\Program Files\Java.

C:\PROGRA~1\Java>dir
 Volume in drive C has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is AC89-88C6

 Directory of C:\PROGRA~1\Java

08/02/2008  08:55 AM    <DIR>          .
08/02/2008  08:55 AM    <DIR>          ..
11/20/2004  04:49 PM    <DIR>          j2re1.4.2_03
12/13/2004  02:57 AM    <DIR>          j2re1.4.2_05
08/15/2005  09:20 PM    <DIR>          jre1.5.0_04
01/12/2006  12:57 AM    <DIR>          jre1.5.0_06
08/02/2008  08:55 AM    <DIR>          jre1.6.0_07
       0 File(s)              0 bytes
       7 Dir(s)  54,967,054,336 bytes free

On a Linux system, you can also issue the java -version command to see the version.

$ java -version
java version "1.4.2"
gij (GNU libgcj) version 4.1.2 20071124 (Red Hat 4.1.2-42)

Copyright (C) 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

[/software/java] permanent link

Thu, Nov 13, 2014 10:38 pm

Sat, Aug 02, 2008 3:10 pm