Flash on OS X error: “Error initializing Java Runtime Environment. You may need to reinstall Flash.”

Question

Error initializing Java Runtime Environment. You may need to reinstall Flash.

I get that error suddenly when running either Flash CS3 or CS5. Reinstalling doesn't help. Saw this note from Adobe, but I'm on a Mac so it doesn't really help.

I also tried this on Stack Overflow: “Error initializing Java Runtime Environment. You may need to reinstall Flash”

Any idea of how I might fix this?

Answer 1

This was a tough one to figure out - I eventually had to call apple care - numerous other users had experienced this based on a Java update. We tried a few things that didn't work, and finally determined that it was easier to just update from Snow Leopard to Lion, which fixed the problem, although there may be some way resolve the issue without having to upgrade.