[Solved] How to Fix Java Virtual Machine Launcher Error

The virtual machine or processor inside your computer that provides an environment for all the Java programs to run on your computer is the Java Virtual Machine. It is a set of specifications of an abstract machine that loads the file containing the programming, interprets it and also helps it being executed it.

Thus the JVM takes the byte code of the program, which is stored in a ‘.class.’ Format and converts it into the operating system specific code, which the machine can read and hence can be run on your computer. So without the proper functioning of this virtual machine on our computers, the many Java-based applications will not be running on our computers!

But that is precisely what happens very often (while booting the computer or opening a java based application) and we get an error called the Java Virtual Machine Launcher Error. In this article, we will be talking about the standard Java Virtual Machine Launcher errors, the kind of error messages that will come up when you are having a particular problem and how to go about solving these problems.

Table of Contents

4 Solutions to Solve Java Virtual Machine Launcher Error

Remove Malware on your computer

If the error message is shown is this- “Error Message: Java Virtual Machine Launcher could not find the main class: the program will now exit” then the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal tool, which is an inbuilt utility tool in Microsoft can be used to remove any Malware from your computer.

To access this tool, go to the Search Windows option in your Start menu and type “mrt” and press Enter. In The tool, choose the option for “Full Scan” and follow the on-screen wizard to start the scan. The scan may take a few moments to complete and in the process will also remove all the Spyware, Adware and Malware on your computer. Reboot your computer once the scan is complete.

Now using the System Configuration tool on your computer the rest of the problem. To launch this, you need to type “msconfig” in the Search Windows option that you can find in the Start Menu. In this utility tool, click the “Startup” tab, which opens a long list. Scan the list to find the following- “WJView.exe” and “javaw.exe.” and uncheck these options.

Uninstalling Java and re-installing

As the heading suggests, this solution involves uninstalling the problematic Java Virtual Machine launcher from your computer and then installing it afresh. This is a quite primitive but effective solution to Java Virtual Machine launching problems when the error message shows- “Error Message: Error opening registry key.”

Before uninstallation, open the Windows\system32 and delete the following files- ‘javaws.exe’, ‘java.exe’, ‘javaw.exe’ and any other Java executable file that you can find. For uninstalling JVM, open the ‘Programs and Features’ tab in the Control Panel of your desktop. Scroll down the list to find Java runtime and uninstall it.

For re-installing Java runtime, visit java.com: Java + You and download the most compatible version. Choosing the correct version is very important as an incompatible version of Java Runtime is one of the biggest reasons for the error.

Clearing Computer Memory

One of the most frequent reasons for the Java Virtual Machine launcher problems is insufficient memory in your COMPUTER. This insufficiency may be in your overall computer memory or in the amount of memory you allocate to Java Runtime. To solve the former, just get rid of all those programs that you don’t use, and you will have a clutter-free (and hopefully a problem-less) computer.

When Java has allocates insufficient memory space, then the error that comes is- “Error Message: Could not create the Java Virtual Machine.” This is one of the most common Java Virtual Machine Launcher errors that you encounter during playing games on Java like Minecraft.

To solve the memory space allocated to Java, go to the Systems options in Control Panel and open the Advanced options window. Here, clicking on the Environment Variables option, you will find a ‘System Variables’ option. Click on the ‘New’ variable option and put the name of the variable as ‘_JAVA_OPTIONS’ with a value of ‘Xmx512M’. (Xmx refers to the maximum space and Xms refer to the minimum space that you can allocate to Java)

Miscellaneous Fix

This solution is for the Java Virtual Machine Launcher error prompt- “Error Message: Unable to access jarfile.” Which comes when trying to open some java based applications. Start by opening the ‘Default Programs’ tab from the Start Menu. Scan the list to find an option called- ‘Associate a file type or protocol with a program’ and select it.

There will be an extension ‘.jar’- Click on this and change the default program to ‘JAVA virtual machine launcher’. Clicking on ‘Close’ will save the changes. Try reopening the program that was earlier causing the problem.

Conclusion

Hopefully, by following this article, you will solve the Java Virtual Machine Launcher error, and all your Java-based applications and games will be up and running smoothly again. There is also this hack if you want to assess your Java skills! All suggestions regarding alternative methods to resolve the launcher error are welcome.