Google Desktop breaks Java for Banner 7
October 29, 2007 12:01 pm PC Tips
An analysis of common programs yielded Google Desktop as a common thread, so we tried uninstalling that. Immediately, Java worked great and Banner loaded immediately. A Google search for ‘java 1.5.0.12 crashes google desktop’ showed that the problem is not limited to Banner only. In all instances we’ve had of the problem, a quick removal of the Google Desktop (including all settings and indexes) has fixed everything. As a side note, the irony factor on this one is pretty significant. After all, most of the users who had the Google Desktop had gotten it as a result of the Java Update Scheduler, which had offered them 1.6 (the actual latest version of Java) and had installed (you guessed it) Google Desktop with the Java update as a default option. Several of our users wrote angry comments in the field Google provided with their uninstaller, and I can’t say I blame them. Also, it’s another example of why IT needs to keep tabs on and limit the proliferation of user-installed software.
We recently had a situation come up at work where a few of our users who do a lot of work in Banner found that they could no longer launch the app. Instead of the login screen, they were getting a blank window in Internet Explorer. We use Java 1.5.0.12 to run Banner 7, and the VM itself seemed to launch fine, but then nothing happened. The problem only started after we upgraded everyone from Java JRE 1.5.0.11 to 12 last week, so we started by assuming the new version of Java was conflicting with something.