Launch jar files on 64 bit java in Windows 7

Question

I wanted to run java programs on a 64 bit Windows 7 computer and I have a 64 bit Java VM. How do I launch the jar files via command line ? It seems that 64 bit Windows 7 have a seperation between 32 bits and 64 bits programs.

Answer 1

Some Jar's I've had to lunch using the java.exe that is in the SysWOW64 folder.

c:\Windows\SysWOW64\java.exe -jar /path/to/jar/file.jar

Answer 2

Try giving the explicit path for each JRE you have installed:

• "C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\bin\java.exe" -jar yourfile.jar
• "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre7\bin\java.exe" -jar yourfile.jar
• "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\java.exe" -jar yourfile.jar

Make sure you have a 64 bit JRE and a 32 bit JRE. Most java software provided still needs a 32 bit JRE (as it uses JNI or other non-portable stuff).

Answer 3

Some jar files have information in them allowing to be executed with the -jar switch. If that information is not present you must use the -cp myjar.jar my.main.method.class argument to java.exe to execute your program.

Basically, if you install Java (the easiest is through http://java.com) then you can use that to run Java programs. It takes care of the correct version.

But it is not a problem to run a 32-bit JVM on a 64-bit system - the primary limitation is that your application is limited to a few gigabytes of memory.

So, if you can run java -version you will be fine with just using the default java command available to you.

Answer 4

I commented, but since somebody else agrees I'll post it as an answer instead:

java -jar /path/to/jar/jarFile.jar

Take care to note what mbx said too:

In case you have more than one JRE try giving the explicit path (C:\Programs..., "C:\Programs (x86)...")