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I'm currently having an issue with playing Minecraft. I played Minecraft perfectly before I had an issue with my computer. Now when I open the minecraft.exe file (or try to open Java itself from the start menu) it says there is a problem with Java:

The registry refers to a non-existent Java Runtime Environment installation or the runtime is corrupted. The system cannot find the path specified

I re-installed Java but it seems there is a problem with my windows installer:

"Error 1723. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A DLL required for this install to complete could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor."

I tried to reinstall the Windows Installation service however this says there is not enough space (even though I have about 12GB free on my hard drive). I'm not sure if this is the correct file I'm trying to install but I thought it was worth a shot.

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3 Answers 3

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Here's what I did on Windows 7:

Open the registry editor (regedit.exe) using an administrator account.

Go to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime Environment

For each version under this path, verify if the paths for the JavaHome and RuntimeLib variables are correct. RuntimeLib should refer to an existent jvm.dll file, JavaHome should be the start of this path with the \bin\client\jvm.dll part removed.

If you have multiple versions in the registry and you do not have a corresponding java version on your disk for one of them, remove the superfluous registry entry.

If the correspondinig java version is at another location on your disk, update the paths. For each version of Java you have, you need to do this twice (once for the particular build you have (example 1.7.0_04) and once for the base version (example 1.7). Mine (but take care, I installed to a custom location) are:

  • JavaHome C:\java\jre
  • RuntimeLib C:\java\jre\7\bin\jvm.dll

I got the error because I moved the software to another directory after installation.

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  • 4
    My experience: if a Java version is in the Registry but not no your hard drive, you need to delete the Registry entry for it.
    – William Leara
    Aug 2, 2016 at 17:10
  • A perfectly working solution for me.
    – MSX
    Sep 27, 2016 at 17:53
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    @WilliamLeara's solution worked for me. I had Java jre1.8.0_65 and jre1.8.0_121 in registry, but on my hard drive I had only jre1.8.0_121 (jre1.8.0_65 also exists on my hard drive but with only a lib file inside. No bin, etc...). So I deleted jre1.8.0_65 from registry and it worked.
    – Alaa M.
    Jan 25, 2017 at 7:34
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    I had the same issue with DocFetcher, In my case it was Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Development Kit that had an invalid entry as i normally install full JDK. Don't forget this folder too!
    – Espinosa
    Apr 2, 2017 at 18:48
  • There is an additional problem in some cases, where the Java startup logic looks spefically for keys like 1.8.0_XX under Java Runtime Environment. This does not account for updates with 3 or more digits. If all you have installed is 1.8u123, you can rename the key to anything that fits the pattern (leaving the contents that point to the correct paths). One way would be to change the 123 to its hex form (7B), so 1.8.0_7B.
    – Zastai
    Sep 21, 2018 at 10:31
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Try renaming the .exe to a .jar People are having this same issue and this seems to solve it.

Once you've tried that, remove every instance of Java you have and reinstall with a package from Java's website. Make sure it's the right architecture (32-64 bit). Try removing Java with the Windows Cleanup Utility, then reboot, the reinstall.

EDIT: Come to think of it, back when I ran windows a similar thing happened to me. Try upgrading to the latest version of Windows Installer. If you're already at the latest, try reinstalling.

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  • I feel the problem may be deeper with Java as .jar files aren't even associated with Java anymore (it doesn't know what to open them with). Any ideas?
    – Leon
    Apr 11, 2011 at 11:17
  • I just edited my answer, try that. If not, we'll keep looking.
    – nopcorn
    Apr 11, 2011 at 11:18
  • Trying to install the Windows Installer redist gives the error "Not enough storage is available to process this command". As for uninstalling Java via the Windows Cleanup Utility, the uninstall worked and I'm trying to reinstall Java now (just at the bit where it usually errors - we'll see).
    – Leon
    Apr 11, 2011 at 11:26
  • Alright let's hope you don't encounter errors
    – nopcorn
    Apr 11, 2011 at 11:29
  • Unfortunately when trying to install Java, it thinks it already has it installed. I click reinstall but then it says "This action is only valid for products that are currently installed". It's really just smacking itself in the face. Any ideas? (Just restarted - still have the same problem)
    – Leon
    Apr 11, 2011 at 11:34
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My workstation is Win 7 64 bit.

Solution for me was to change all references of 

C:\Program Files\Java\...

to

C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\...

in the registry path 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\

My actual installed path and registry entries did not match.

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