PC hanging up with javaw.exe & MLS

aprayzr · #11

I have occasionally had Java problems on a few of the ward computers. Most were related to bad update installs - usually an automatic update that got started and terminated in the middle. I have just removed all instances of Java with Add/Remove Programs, then reinstalled MLS. As noted, I probably only needed to reinstall MLS, but I like to clean-up after all the old versions of Java anyway. I now turn off automatic Java updates on all unit computers and have not had a problem since.

russellhltn · #12

Desktop 5.5 came with no less than 3 different versions of Java installed. Part of my prep procedure is to remove all of them early on in the process. Since MLS will install what it needs, that works.

I'm not sure if the MLS Java install will show in Add/Remove programs.

ericb · #13

Alan_Brown wrote:I believe jdlessley already addressed your first point earlier in the thread -- MLS definitely uses its own JRE in C:\Program Files\jre6.

In the case of our ward computer, the JRE in use by MLS is installed in Program Files\Java\jre6. The Java subfolder is the default location created by the Java installer for JREs, with each release being installed in its own subdirectory (Java 6 being located in jre6 -- I'm not sure if this was the case prior to Java 5). So, my previous assumption that MLS has its own 'embedded' JRE installation was wrong -- this is sometimes used by Java apps to ensure version compatibility and to include Java extensions. If that were the case for MLS, the Java binaries, libraries, etc. would normally be located under the MLS program folder.

Today, I did a Java update and it automatically installed/updated the files located in C:\Program Files\Java\jre6 (from Java 6 update 1 to update 12). I looked at the MLS log and it reflected using the newer JRE version the next time it was launched. As others have mentioned, there may be numerous JRE versions installed that are of no consequence when troubleshooting MLS issues. Referring to the MLS log can be helpful to identify the one being used.

russellhltn · #14

Interesting. I wonder if that was a change. My laptop (used for testing) has both a Java\jre6 and a jre6 directory. I have noticed some strange screen artifacts that make me wonder if MLS is starting to use what's on the machine rather than it's own install.

jpjones~ogr · #15

I'll agree that two instances of javaw.exe isn't normal, but that's what I see in Task Manager if I don't use my work-around and MLS has problems during or after reopening. It is normal to see multiple instances of some utilities, so it took a little time to determine that Java was the culprit.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled Java once, which may have very briefly (two Sundays) solved the problem. We use the default path for Java installation (Program Files\Java\jre6\). We have used OpenOffice for quite a while, but there were no issues with Java until about a year ago. I'll try disabling OpenOffice Quickstarter as a test. We recently received Web access as a test group, so previously MSIE had no value and wasn't used.

If I remember correctly, my normal routine involves booting the PC, opening MLS, making some changes to membership or financial, transmitting the changes, and closing MLS. If I don't end the instance of javaw.exe that is usually running after closing MLS, most of the time MLS won't restart properly or it will freeze during operation. I'll verify my steps tomorrow.

ericb · #16

jpjonesxyz wrote:I'll agree that two instances of javaw.exe isn't normal, but that's what I see in Task Manager if I don't use my work-around and MLS has problems during or after reopening.

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').

mkmurray · #17

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').

Isn't there also some kind of logging console you can turn on as well for the JRE? Perhaps it would give you clues as to which programs are making new javaw.exe instances.

russellhltn · #18

ericb wrote:I looked at the MLS log and it reflected using the newer JRE version the next time it was launched.

How are you doing that? I looked at the log on my test machine and can't see anything that would tell me what Java MLS is running.

Something else to consider: It used to be when you installed a Java "update", it would install a new instance of itself. That recently changed. It's now doing "in place" updates.

I wonder if somehow doing Java updates from the web is affecting MLS's copy of Java?

aebrown · #19

RussellHltn wrote:How are you doing that? I looked at the log on my test machine and can't see anything that would tell me what Java MLS is running.

Something else to consider: It used to be when you installed a Java "update", it would install a new instance of itself. That recently changed. It's now doing "in place" updates.

I wonder if somehow doing Java updates from the web is affecting MLS's copy of Java?

Starting with MLS 2.9.3, the log has been enhanced to show the Java version. In the C:\Program Files\LDS Church\MLS\mlslog.txt file you will see entries that look like:

Code: Select all

[i] {Sat 2009-02-28 07:21:40} ***********: Opened Log file mlslog.txt for MLS 2.9.3_15066 ***********
[i] {Sat 2009-02-28 07:21:40} Socket semaphore ready.
[i] {Sat 2009-02-28 07:21:40}   OS = Windows 2000 (ver=5.0), x86
[i] {Sat 2009-02-28 07:21:40}   Java vendor = Sun Microsystems Inc., version = 1.6.0_11
[i] {Sat 2009-02-28 07:21:40} Loaded module: Confidential Reports and Forms
[i] {Sat 2009-02-28 07:21:41} Loaded module: Seminaries and Institutes
[i] {Sat 2009-02-28 07:21:41} Loaded module: Church Audits

Note that fourth line tells the Java version. Now it doesn't tell you the folder it is running from, so if you have multiple installations of JRE6 version 11 on your machine, you can't distinguish between them just from looking at the the log.

But 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.

russellhltn · #20

Alan_Brown wrote:Starting with MLS 2.9.3.....

OK, that's the problem. I haven't updated the test machine yet.