Java fix for OSAS
03/08/2012 This fix only applies to systems using the BBj version of OSAS.
This week, Oracle, the publisher of the Java language, published an update to Java that may cause your OSAS system to stop working. If your workstation or server has been configured to update automatically, or if you approved the update manually, then you will receive an error when you try to start the OSAS system. The two most common error messages are:
BBjservices not running locally
BBj is not supported in Java 1.7
How
do you tell which version you have? If you look at the Main menu of the
system (in graphical mode), then you can tell. You will see a reference
to BBj or PRO5 right below the menu bar in the top left of the screen.
Here
is the BBj version:
Here
is the VPRO5 version:
The problem occurs when the Java update to Java 7 automatically removes the Java 6 version that was on your system. The OSAS system is not compatible with Java 7. Java 6 and Java 7 could both be on your system at one time, but the current update from Oracle is removing the Java 6. So the solution for now is to remove the newly installed Java 7, then re-install the Java 6. That should get you running normally again.
Removing the Java 7
You MUST have administrative rights on your computer in order to add or remove programs.
These instructions were done on a Windows 7 32-bit system. Slight adjustments may be necessary for other Windows systems.
Go to your workstation's Control Panel, find the Programs and Features function (hint: I like to change the view in Control Panel to small icons)
You will see a list of the installed programs on your system. Select the Java 7 to uninstall. Your update level is likely to be different from what you see here. This is Java 7 Update 9. Whatever update level you have, you must remove it.
The program will ask you to confirm you wish to remove it, and select YES.
After the Java 7 has been removed, you can close out of the Control Panel
Now we want to re-install the previous Java 6. When I setup a system, I normally leave the Java version on the server for easy access. This would normally be accessed from your workstation on the O: drive. Compatible java version files are named something like:
jre-6u20-windows-i586.exe
The name above indicates that it is Java 6, update 20 for a Windows 32-bit system. Your update level may vary.
So you can go browsing on your O: drive and see if you can find the old version. It may be in the root of O: or it may be in a subfolder such as: OSAS752CD, or Workstation Setup or Setup. Note: You can also use the Windows search feature to search the drive for any jre-6 files.
If you have an update level lower than 27, or if you can't find a Java 6 version on your system, then you can download the latest Java 6 from my website at:
http://crosse-over.com/ftp/
In the list of files on my site you will find: java6.zip. You can save this file to your system and expand the archive file in place, then use this file to continue the installation.
So now that you have a java 6 version located, you can right-click on this file, then choose Run as administrator (as seen below).
This will launch the welcome screen below. You do not need to change any parameters for
the install, so simply click [Install] to continue.
When the install has
completed, you will see the finish screen below.
Notice that by default the installation configures itself for auto-updates. You can close this screen and the final thing we want to do is turn off the auto-update.
Go back to your Control Panel. You should see a Java option. Double-Click the Java option.
When you come into the Java control panel, you will see the tabs at the top. Select the UPDATE tab.
You should then UNCHECK the automatic update box. When you do that, you will see the screen below:
You should select the Never Check option. Then click the OK button to save your changes.
This should turn off the auto-update feature.
You should now be able to run OSAS again. If you still have a problem, give us a call and we can trouble-shoot it with you.