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• March 9, 2004 •
This week, Microsoft released the MSJVM Removal Tool. The tool can be used to remove the MS Java Virtual Machine (MSJVM). According to Microsoft, the use of this tool is the only supported method for removing the MSJVM from a Microsoft operating system.
System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 95 (OSR 2.5 only), Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows ME, Windows NT (Workstation 4.0: SP6a only), Windows Server 2003, Windows XP
This software supports the following MSJVM build versions:
Note:
If you use the MSJVM Removal Tool, Microsoft will not be able to provide you with a copy of the MSJVM if you decide you want to reinstall the MSJVM later. Your only options for reinstallation of the MSJVM will be to establish a system restore point, install from a prior image that includes the MSJVM, reinstall a third party application that includes the MSJVM, or reinstall the applicable Windows Operating System from media. If you no longer have the media for a Windows Operating System that includes the MSJVM, you may not be able to get such media from Microsoft. If you use the MSJVM Removal Tool you agree that Microsoft has no obligation to provide you with the MSJVM.
According to Microsoft, you should carefully assess your MSJVM dependencies before running this tool. Microsoft advises users to consult the Transitioning from the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine document, in order to understand MSJVM issues and get the latest available information about MSJVM removal. Third party applications may continue to have MSJVM specific dependencies for an unknown amount of time and users may depend on these applications. Therefore, Microsoft highly recommends that this tool be run in a test environment prior to removing the MSJVM on production or critical systems.
To run the MSJVM Removal Tool, you need to be logged on as administrator. You can run or deploy this tool with user interface or with the scriptable command line interface. Command line options are the same as the options for IExpress packages, andinformation about command line switches can be found in this document: Command-Line Switches For IExpress Software Update Packages.
Download
Seems that Microsoft removed the file from their servers... No word on why, or if the tool will be re-released. So unless it is re-released, we're stuck using this manual method.
You can download the file from the Microsoft Download Center [349 KB - Eng].
You'll need to extract the file to a temporary folder (you will be prompted when you run the unmsjvm.exe that you downloaded. Then from the temporary folder you'll need to run the actual tool, which is also called unmsjvm.exe. You'll also find a file Readme.rtf file, which contains more information on the tool.
On Windows XP (and presumably Windows ME, which I haven't tried) a System Restore point is set, which is - as noted above - the only way to "undo" the JVM removal.
