By the way, there is a subtle difference between java and javaw, which is worth knowing. JAVA_HOME contains 'java' command-line utility which is what required by Eclipse to run.Īlternatively, you can install JRE on your windows 7 machine, and include its bin directory into PATH that contains javaw command, which can also run Eclipse or any Java program. Once you install JDK, its good to set yo ur JAVA_HOME environment variable, and subsequently include JAVA_HOME/bin into your PATH. Now, In order to install JRE, you can either download JDK or a JRE from Oracle's Java download site.įor Java programmers, I suggest installing JDK because it comes with bundled JRE. Eclipse is a popular Java IDE, which assists on coding, debugging and running Java program, but the key point is, Eclipse itself need Java to launch and run.īy default, Eclipse scans your PATH and looks for any JRE if it founds suitable JRE then it runs otherwise it throws 'A java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development kit (JDK) must be available in order to run Eclipse.

Before getting into details and trying to find root cause and solution of Eclipse Java Virtual Machine not found error, let's see some background about Eclipse. One of my readers was installing Eclipse in his Windows 7 x86 machine and emailed me about this error ' A java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development kit (JDK) must be available in order to run Eclipse.

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