Quick Links

Blackboard - Java Installation - Windows XP/2000/Vista

You will need to have the Sun Microsystems Java Runtime Environment (JRE) software installed in your browser in order for certain areas of Blackboard to function properly (minimum requirements are version 1.5.0_04 or later).

The current JRE version recommended by MUSO Support for use with Blackboard is JRE 1.5.0_12 (Java 1.5 Build 12)

To install Java:

1. Click Java - Get It Now (opens in a new window). The Download Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment page appears.

2. Review and accept the License Agreement.

The page should refresh and the License Agreement should disappear

Internet Explorer Users:

You may get a warning message similar to the one below after clicking on the Windows Online Installation link. Click Yes

3. Select Windows Online Installation.

4. Firefox users (See left screenshot) click Save File. Internet Explorer users (see right screenshot) click Save

5. Save the file to your desktop (or somewhere where you will be able to easily locate the file).

6. Locate the filejre-1_5_0_12-windows-i586-p-iftw.exe on your desktop (or wherever you have saved the file to) and double click on it (the icon should look similar to the one above if you are having trouble locating the file)

7. Select Typical setup

8. Click Accept

Note: You may be asked if you want to install a free program with the Java Runtime Environment (such as the one above). Make sure that you leave the box unticked and click Next)

9. The install process will continue automatically from this point. Please make sure you remain connected to the internet.
The installation will take anywhere from a few minutes (broadband) to over an hour (dial up) depending on your connection speed (the installation downloads approximately 10megabytes)

10. Once the installation process has finished click Finish

Disabling Automatic Updates

By Default, Java automatically searches for updates, and if this option is not turned off it
will automatically update to the latest version of Java (which is not supported). The following instructions will turn off this feature.

1. Open the control panel (Start -> Control Panel or Start -> Settings -> Control panel depending on how your browser is setup)
2. If you are in Category View, click on Switch to Classic View
3. Double Click Java (the Java control panel will open in a new window)
4. Click on the Update tab
5. Untick "Check for updates automatically"
6. Click OK

You should now have Java installed and correctly configured to use Blackboard