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This document contains some important details required for easy use of Java on Windows NT4, 2000 and XP.

Installation
Install the latest version of Java by downloading the complete software development kit from Sun, currently about 46MB for J2SDK 1.4.2_02, and installing into the default location C:\j2sdk1.4.2_01.

Environment variables
When Java is installed edit some system environment variables.
On Windows 2000 you get to the environment variables by selecting
My computer | Properties | Advanced | Environmental Variables.

JAVA_HOME
Edit the system environment JAVA_HOME to ensure it equals the installation directory, for instance the default location of C:\j2sdk1.4.2_01.

PATH
Edit the system environment PATH to ensure it includes the bin directory of the installation, for instance the default location of C:\j2sdk1.4.2_01\bin.
* Note that the changes to the system environment variables will not get to your SYSTEM user (the one which services are run under) until you reboot your computer.

Jedit
Jedit, a great Java text editor package, does not find the path to Java from the JAVA_HOME environment variable. Instead you have to run the application jedinit.exe which comes with Jedit and resides in the same directory as the Jedit executable, usually C:\Program Files\jEdit 4.1.

Eclipse
The Eclipse Platform appears to locate the Java executable from the PATH or JAVA_HOME environment variables so nothing to do.

Using Java on Windows NT/2000/XP is mentioned on: Windows