Which version of Java for a 64-bit Vista machine?
Posted December 16, 2009 – 10:01 pm
I was recently trying to clean up things on my computer and noticed for the several’th time that I had 2 versions of Java installed and running on my laptop (a 64-bit Windows Vista machine).
Java is a programming language used in browsers – like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. Java plugs into these browsers and helps them to do things like display graphics, play games, run widgets, etc.
I wasn’t sure if I needed both versions of the program or not, so decided to investigate.
It turns out that one version of Java on my machine is an x64 version (64 bit) and the other is an x86 version (32 bit).
Did I need both? Answer is ‘yes’ – at least in my case.
Reason is that I need the 32-bit version to run in tandem with 32-bit browsers that I use – and I need the 64-bit version to run with the lone 64-bit browser that I use (Internet Explorer x64).
Further information can be found here: Java on 64-bit Windows.
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