Java plugin in the browser doesn't work even though it is enabled

I installed the Java Development Kit (64-bit) recently and saw it includes the JRE plugin for 64-bit as well. But, since Firefox is 32-bit, I also installed JRE 32-bit version. This is what is shown in Programs and Features.

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Now, the problem is, the other day, I opened a site which required the Java plugin. The frame showed the regular Java loading animation and hung. Nothing happened after that. Like this:

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I checked Firefox's plugins section and it shows Java is enabled, so no issue there

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I tried other browsers - IE10 and Chrome but to no avail. It doesn't work anywhere. I saw another question which said that you have to install 64-bit then 32-bit. That's what I actually did as well. First, installed JDK 7 64-bit (which includes JRE 7 64-bit) and then installed JRE 7 32-bit.

I even tried the Java website's Do I have Java? section and over there too, it just keeps spinning for ages (I have waited for more than 10-20 seconds).

enter image description here

How do I go about now? This never happened to me in Windows 7. I am on Windows 8 Pro.

EDIT: I have removed AdBlock, reinstalled the JRE plugin but it still doesn't work.

EDIT 2: I uninstalled JDK (64-bit), JRE (64-bit and 32-bit), restarted my laptop, cleaned the registry and all the cache and temporary files with CCleaner, again installed JDK (64-bit) and then JRE (32-bit; 64-bit is installed along with JDK). Still didn't work. Then I went to this link found on Troubleshooting Java http://www.java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp. The first time it gave an error which I'm unable to recall because when I refreshed, the animation just hung like in the second screenshot above.

EDIT 3: I managed to reproduce the error and I'm attaching the screenshots here

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I clicked on details and this is what I saw:

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I also tried disabling Kaspersky Internet Security 2013. Didn't work. I have disabled KIS's browser addons: Anti-Banner and Content Blocker. No luck still.

EDIT 4: I tried this on the 64-bit version of Internet Explorer as well. The spinner just keeps rotating like on the 32-bit browsers. Moreover, I tried on my PC at home which runs 32-bit Windows 8. I installed 32-bit JRE on it and well, Java works perfectly on that. So what's the problem with my box?

pratnala

Posted 2012-12-18T04:33:01.487

Reputation: 1 866

Do you use an Adblocker or NoScript? – magicandre1981 – 2012-12-21T12:19:29.590

I have AdBlock Plus. I disabled it completely, restarted Firefox and tried again. Still doesn't work. I read somewhere about something called Java WebStart. What's that? – pratnala – 2012-12-21T13:16:02.120

Read here what this Webstart is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Web_Start. Try to reinstall the JAVA Runtime. Maybe this fixes it.

– magicandre1981 – 2012-12-21T19:35:54.753

Please see the edited question – pratnala – 2012-12-22T14:46:39.963

Run ProcessMonitor and look if you can see why JAVA doesn't start. Look at the Result column. – magicandre1981 – 2012-12-22T19:01:59.020

Pls see the edited question @magicandre1981 How to do what you have told ? Am a little lost – pratnala – 2012-12-24T13:25:32.113

Here are 2 videos which show you how to sue ProcMon : http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Defrag-Tools/Defrag-Tools-3-Process-Monitor http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Defrag-Tools/Defrag-Tools-4-Process-Monitor

– magicandre1981 – 2012-12-24T22:27:36.270

@PratyushNalam may be jre version is a problem here check out this link an try to install old version of jre.

– avirk – 2012-12-25T02:40:29.690

@magicandre1981 Pls see edited question. I managed to reproduce the error. – pratnala – 2012-12-25T10:29:42.423

Has anyone else faced this problem? @avirk I'll try that (installing JRE 6) and get back – pratnala – 2012-12-25T10:30:24.950

@magicandre1981 I opened ProcMon. I see only explorer.exe. No firefox or java. – pratnala – 2012-12-26T10:57:28.840

Also, how to extend the bounty time? – pratnala – 2012-12-26T17:05:36.417

The last java version adds a control panel item where you must enable "Java in Browser" first. Is this activated for you? http://www.ghacks.net/2012/12/19/java-7-update-10-introduces-new-security-features/

– magicandre1981 – 2012-12-27T06:34:03.700

Yes it is enabled – pratnala – 2012-12-27T08:46:00.390

@PratyushNalam: Where is your java installed? In Java Control Panel, under java -> view, you will see Java Runtime Settings. Check whether the path is right or not and see whether they are enabled. Did you checkout these pages? https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/firefox_newplugin.xml https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/win8_faq.xml https://www.java.com/en/download/help/firefox_addons.xml

– Bharadwaj Srigiriraju – 2012-12-27T11:39:28.990

I checked the Java Runtime settings. They're fine. Nothing helpful in the links. I'm on a Desktop and have both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of JRE installed – pratnala – 2012-12-27T13:27:28.227

Please see the updated question. – pratnala – 2012-12-29T10:08:28.033

Answers

I had to do a refresh of Windows for some other reason. This time when I installed, everything works now - browser plugin etc.

Weird.

pratnala

Posted 2012-12-18T04:33:01.487

Reputation: 1 866

Download the full 32-bit JRE from here.

Also, try going to the command-line (Ctrl+R, then type in cmd). Once there, type in java and see what happens. If it says something like java not recognized as an internal or external command then it may be a problem with your environment variables.

If it does indeed run and print out its command-line options, then perhaps try looking to see if your browsers for some reason are using an old version of the Java Applet plugins.

In my experience, if the Java Webstart isn't working, its generally because Java isn't set up correctly.

Hassan Khan

Posted 2012-12-18T04:33:01.487

Reputation: 151

1Or you know, you could go back to Windows 7. – Hassan Khan – 2012-12-23T04:30:01.763

Which I won't.. – pratnala – 2012-12-23T13:30:15.357

Did you try what I said above? What did the command prompt say when you typed in java? – Hassan Khan – 2012-12-23T17:13:06.713

It gives all the command line options – pratnala – 2012-12-24T02:55:41.870

How to fix Java Web Start then? – pratnala – 2012-12-25T10:21:41.500

Use Windows Event Viewer to see what happens when you try and load a Java applet? Sorry, I'm out of ideas :( – Hassan Khan – 2012-12-25T16:39:09.510

I didn't see anything in Windows System logs. Which other category should I check? – pratnala – 2012-12-25T17:09:01.017

OK, another idea, try going to the JRE options in Control Panel. Go to General and see if "Use browser settings" is checked, also go to the Advanced tab and check all the checkboxes for "Default Java For Browsers". – Hassan Khan – 2012-12-25T20:52:39.393

Try using the latest Java version (JRE 7 Update 10), apparently that has full support for Windows 8. From your screenshots above, it seems like you have the previous version installed. – Hassan Khan – 2012-12-25T20:55:39.207

Yesterday, I have updated to JRE 7u10. Doesn't work still – pratnala – 2012-12-26T02:53:29.823

Did you jsut update or did you completely remove java first and then installed u10? – Mattias Isegran Bergander – 2012-12-26T23:16:26.523

Removed completely, restarted, and the installed – pratnala – 2012-12-27T03:23:27.853

It seems it may be a PATH issue (environment variable).

To fix it, here is the link for the solution in windows 7. The same should be able to be done in windows8.

Lorenzo Von Matterhorn

Posted 2012-12-18T04:33:01.487

Reputation: 2 137