In the Fall of 2004, there are some new laptops on campus, and Windows XP. It seems that the java runtime library is not installed, and this is needed for the physlets to run properly (or at all). Here are the steps to located the file you need from the SUN website. [These links are good as of August 26th, 2004 - the versions might change, but the basic idea is that you want the Java Runtime Library (not the SDK!).]
BEFORE YOU START You must have "administrator priviledges" to install this Java stuff! Usually, when you get your new laptop, there is a place where you have to look up the user accounts, get into the administrator group - search for yourself on the campus server .. etc. - that's what I call "the adminstrator stuff" - if you haven't done that - the Java install will fail (and say something about not having sufficient rights or priviledges to install the software).
Unfortunately, my current help page only shows the Win2000 method for putting yourself in the administrator group, but I'll try to add that WinXP version as soon as I can. If you already did "the administrator stuff" - then continue with the rest of this page - otherwise, contact me, or wait until I can get the steps posted here.
Step 0) First, test to see if you need the runtime library loaded - here is a sample physlet : http://qbx6.ltu.edu/s_schneider/physlets/main/startup.shtml
Once the page loads (and it might take a few seconds, be patient), you should get a grid box on the right, with a green frowny face in it. If you see that, you don't need to install the runtime library, your machin should work fine - skip the rest of this (unless you want to upgrade to the newest version).
Step 1) CLOSE ALL INTERNET APPLICATIONS (except for one browser) - use the browser to navigate to this site : http://java.com/en/index.jsp
Step 2)You could have the sun website look at your system and install what it thinks you need, but I would rather install the file manually (that way I can reinstall it if necessary). I suggest you choose MANUAL DOWNLOAD from the right side of the screen.
Step 3) Click on the download button next to the OFFLINE INSTALLATION for Windows (that way, you download the 15 meg file, but can always reinstall it if necessary, you wouldn't need to go back to the Sun site).
Step 4) Go find the file that was just downloaded - mine looks like this below. MAKE SURE ALL YOUR INTERNET APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED (browsers, IM clients, AOL, IRC - whatever). Then doubleclick on the file and start the installation process (just choose the "standard" type of responses to the choices). It will probably ask you to reboot your machine.
Step 5) Once you have rebooted your system, come back to this page and run the test physlet again (or any other physlet page) - everything should work fine.
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Last Updated = Friday, 03-Feb-2006 23:24:11 EST Of the 6 people that have visited this site, you are the most recent.