vista.bu.edu | Getting Started | Java Settings

Java Settings

Blackboard Vista will not run properly if you are using an incompatible version of Java or if you have multiple versions of Java installed. Use these instructions to locate and adjust your Java configuration as necessary.

Select your version of Windows

Check your version of Java

Click the start button in the lower left-hand corner of your screen.
Click the Control Panel icon.
Double-click the "Java" or "Java Plug-in" icon. If you don't see this icon, you may need to switch from Category View to Classic View. You can do this by clicking the "Switch to Classic View" link in the left column of your Windows Control Panel.
In the Java Control Panel, click either the "General" or "Basic" tab and then click on the "About..." button.
Locate your Java version number. You should use the latest version of Java (Java 1.6). If your version isn't Java 1.6, you can follow the instructions in our "How to.." section for Updating your version of Java or if you experience Java issues and have more than one version of Java on your computer, proceed to the instructions below for Get the correct version of Java. If you have the correct version of Java for your version of Blackboard Vista, proceed to enabling Java in your browser.

Get the correct version of Java

Blackboard Vista users should use Java 1.6. To replace older, incompatible or multiple versions of Java with the correct version, follow the steps below.

Close out all Internet browser windows (i.e. Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc...).
Click the start button in the lower left-hand corner of your screen.
Click the Control Panel icon.
Click on "Add or Remove Programs". If you are already in Classic View, you will need to double-click the "Add or Remove Programs" icon.
In the window that appears, locate all versions of Sun Java, JRE, J2SE, or JVM.

For each version, click the "Remove" button and follow the onscreen instructions to remove these files from your computer. Once you have removed all of the Java files, restart your computer and continue with step #7.
After the computer restart, open up a browser and download Java 1.6.
Click the "Windows XP/Vista/2000/2003 Offline" link and save the file to your computer's desktop.
Once the file is saved to your desktop, close out all browser windows and then double-click the Java file to install Java 1.6 on your computer. Follow the on screen instructions. If prompted, select the "Typical" installation.
Proceed to Enable Java in your browser.

Windows Vista

Check your version of Java
Get the correct version of Java
Enable Java in your web browser

Check Your Version of Java

Click the start button in the lower left-hand corner of your screen.
Click the Control Panel icon.
This will open up your Windows Control Panel window. You will see the Java icon under either "Programs" or "Additional Options".
Click the Java icon. It looks like a coffee mug. If a security window appears asking for permission to run the program, click "Allow."

On the "General" tab, click on the "About..." button

Locate your Java version number. You should use the latest version of Java (Java 1.6). If your version isn't Java 1.6, you can follow the instructions in our "How to.." section for Updating your version of Java or if you experience Java issues and have more than one version of Java on your computer, proceed to the instructions below for Get the correct version of Java. If you have the correct version of Java for your version of Blackboard Vista, proceed to enabling Java in your browser.

Get the correct version of Java

Blackboard Vista users should use Java 1.6. To replace older, incompatible or multiple versions of Java with the correct version, follow the steps below.

Click the start button in the lower left-hand corner of your screen.
Click the Control Panel icon.
Click on "Uninstall a Program."
Click on the Java icon and then click "Uninstall" from the menu bar. If a security window appears asking for permission to run the program, click "Allow." If you have more than one Sun Java, JRE, J2SE, or JVM program, make sure you remove all of them before installing your correct version of Java.

Once you have removed all of the Java files, restart your computer and continue with step #6.
After the computer restart, open up a browser and download Java 1.6.
Click the "Windows XP/Vista/2000/2003 Offline" link and save the file to your computer's desktop.
Once the file is saved to your desktop, close out all browser windows and then double-click the Java file to install Java 1.6 on your computer. Follow the on screen instructions. If prompted, select the "Typical" installation.
You do not need to disable automatic updates to your version of Java so proceed to enabling Java in your browser.