Can t start Eclipse - Java was started but returned exit code 13

Question

I am trying to get my first taste of Android development using Eclipse  I ran into this problem when trying to run Eclipse  having installed version 4 2 only minutes ago   After first trying to start Eclipse without any parameters to specify the Java VM  I got an error message saying it couldn t find a Java VM called javaw exe inside the Eclipse folder  so I found where Java was installed and specified that location as the parameter in the shortcut s target  Now I get a different error  Java was started but returned exit code 13   Similar questions seem to indicate that it s a 32-bit 64-bit conflict  but I m 99  positive that I downloaded 64-bit versions of both Eclipse and Java  RE 7u5   which I chose because I have 64-bit Windows 7     If anyone knows how to confirm that my Eclipse and Java are 64-bit  that d be appreciated  If you think my problem is a different one  please help  Please speak as plainly as you can  as I am totally new to Eclipse and Java       Shortcut Target   C  Program Files Eclipse-SDK-4 2-win32-x86 64 eclipse eclipse exe  -vm  C  Program Files  x86  Java jre7 bin javaw exe    Full error code      Java was started but returned exit code 13 C  Program Files  x86  Java jre7 bin javaw exe -Xms40m -Xmx512m -XX MaxPermSize 256m -jar C  Program Files Eclipse-SDK-4 2-win32-x86 64 eclipse  plugins org eclipse equinox launcher 1 30v20120522-1813 jar -os win32 -ws win32 -arch x86 64 -showsplash C  Program Files Eclipse-SDK-4 2-win32-x86 64 eclipse  plugins org eclipse platform 4 2 0 v201206081400 splash bmp -launcher C  Program Files Eclipse-SDK-4 2-win32-x86 64 eclipse eclipse exe -name Eclipse --launcher library C  Program Files Eclipse-SDK-4 2-win32-x86 64 eclipse  plugins org eclipse equinox launcher win32 win32 x86 64 1 1 200 v201205221813 eclipse 1503 dll -startup C  Program Files Eclipse-SDK-4 2-win32-x86 64 eclipse  plugins org eclipse equinox launcher 1 30v20120522-1813 jar --launcher overrideVmargs -exitdata 1e30 5c -vm C  Program Files  x86  Java jre7 bin javaw exe -vmargs -Xms40m -Xmx512m -XX MaxPermSize 256m -jar C  Program Files Eclipse-SDK-4 2-win32-x86 64 eclipse  plugins org eclipse equinox launcher 1 30v20120522-1813 jar

User · Answer

I got this error and found that my PATH variable (on Windows) was probably changed. First in my PATH was this entry:

C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath

...and Eclipse ran "C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath\javaw" - which gave the error. I suspect that this is something that came along with an installation of Java 8.

I have several Java versions installed (6,7 and 8), so I removed that entry from the PATH and tried to restart Eclipse again, which worked fine.

If it's doesn't work for you, you'll need to upgrade your JDK (to the Java versions - 8 in this case).

Instructions on how to edit PATH variable

User · Answer

The issue was fixed by doing the following steps    Eclipse finds the JAVA executables from  C  ProgramData Oracle Java javapath  The folder structure will contain shortcuts to the below executables   i  java exe  ii  javaw exe  iii  javaws exe For me the executable paths were pointing to my Program Files x86   home for 32 bit applications  folder location I corrected it to Program Files  which homes 64-bit applications  and the issue got resolved   Please find the screenshot for the same

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I found I had installed 32-bit Eclipse by mistake  and was trying to use it with a 64-bit JRE  which is why I got this error  To see whether you have 32 or 64 bit Eclipse installed  see this answer  https   stackoverflow com a 9578565 191761

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I tried some of the solutions  but not worked for me   Finally  I found another way       Go to Environment Variables   System Variables  Set C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 02 bin javaw exe to the path in the system variables   Try it  It worked for me

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If you install a 64-bit Eclipse version on a PC with a 32-bit JRE this is guaranteed to occur   So the solution is quite straightforward  You need to synchronise them by updating either one  This shall happen when downloading Oracle Fusion middleware and Eclipse expects a 32-bit environment while your JRE is 64-bit and your JAVA home is pointing to a 64-bit JDK

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I had the same issue     installed STS but consistently got the  java was started but returned exit code 13  message   My issue was that I was using the default install file  which was not processor specific  from https   spring io tools sts   I had to dive deeper to be very specific in downloading the 64 bit version   It was not intuitive as to which version you were downloading   Once I got the 64 bit version  note that the zip file still includes  win32  in the name  just appends  -64  at end  it worked

User · Answer

A clean reinstall of the Java JDK did the trick in my case  I am running Eclipse 4 4  Luna  like a charm now

User · Answer

I had an x64 bit JDK  There was nothing in my path settings  So I installed the x86 JDK  This solved my problem perfectly

User · Answer

In  Path  variable removed   C  ProgramData Oracle Java javapath  and replaced it with  C  Program Files Java jdk1 8 0 212 bin    It worked for me

User · Answer

You have to go to the folder where eclipse is installed and then you have to change the eclipse ini file   You have to add   -vm  C  Program Files Java jdk1 8 0 202 bin javaw exe  Your eclipse ini file will look like the below screenshot

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I had a similar error after installing Java 8 on my Windows nbsp 7 system  64 bit system    Changing environment variables  etc  did not help  So I tried to remove the Java Update 8  but that too did not help  Downloading and installing the 64-bit version of Java 8 SDK fixed my problem  I hope this helps

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For me the solution was to go into  on Windows 8 1    System  gt  Advanced system setting  gt  Environment Variables    Under  System variables  in the  Path  variable there was the following first   C  ProgramData Oracle Java javapath    I removed this and Eclipse worked again

User · Answer

I uninstalled Java update 25  and the issue was solved

User · Answer

I had the same problem  I was using Windows nbsp 8 with a 64-bit OS  I just changed the path to Program Files  x86  and then it started work  I put this line in the eclipse ini file   -vm  C  Program Files  x86  Java jre7 bin javaw exe

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There are working combinations of OS  JDK and Eclipse bitness  In my case  I was using a 64-bit JDK with a 32-bit Eclipse on a 64-bit OS  After downgrading the JDK to 32-bit  Eclipse started working   Use one of the following combinations    32-bit OS  32-bit JDK  32-bit Eclipse  32-bit only  64-bit OS  32-bit JDK  32-bit Eclipse 64-bit OS  64-bit JDK  64-bit Eclipse  64-bit only

User · Answer

I had this message when I had forgot to install the JDK

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Your version of Eclipse is 64-bit  based on the paths and filenames  However  the version of Java that it s picking up is 32-bit  as indicated by where it is coming from  on this line   -vm C  Program Files  x86  Java jre7 bin javaw exe   Program Files  x86  is the folder where 64-bit Windows places 32-bit programs   Program Files is the folder where 64-bit Windows places 64-bit programs   This can happen when a system has more than one JVM installed  as is often the case on Windows 64-bit  for example  the JRE download page uses the bit-ness of the browser to determine what bit-ness download to offer you  and many people use d  32-bit browsers even though they run 64-bit Windows    The best way to fix this  assuming you do in fact have 64-bit JRE or JDK on your system  is to specify in eclipse ini exactly which JVM you want it to use  The instructions are detailed in the Eclipse wiki page  but basically you have to specify the -vm option in the ini file - make sure to read the wiki page carefully as the format is very specific   Specifying the JVM path in eclipse ini is strongly recommended because doing so isolates Eclipse from any potential changes to your system PATH that some program installers might make  I m talking to you  Oracle     Another option would be to download and use 32-bit Eclipse instead of 64-bit  but it s still strongly recommended to specify the path to the JVM in eclipse ini     Left for historical reference   To check your version of Java  run      java -version    in a console  command prompt   On Windows 7 with 64-bit Java 6 I get      java version  1 6 0 27    Java TM  SE Runtime Environment  build 1 6 0 27-b07    Java HotSpot TM  64-Bit Server VM  build 20 2-b06  mixed mode    Note the 3rd line  which shows that this is a 64-bit version    On a 32-bit version you ll get something like      Java HotSpot TM  Client VM  build 20 1-b02  mixed mode  sharing     If you are on a 64-bit machine  then you can install the 64-bit JDK and uninstall the 32-bit one  For instance on Windows 10  just go to Settings and under Apps  you will find Java  Click on it and you will find all the different versions  Now you can select which one to uninstall

User · Answer

If nothing works  then the last solution you can try is to completely uninstall Java from your computer and then install it again  and make sure the path variables are set correctly

User · Answer

I had the same issue  Java was started but returned exit code 13   My solution was to create an environment variable to Windows properties variable name   PATH variable value   C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 02 bin  not to C  Program Files  x86  Java jre7 bin   Next I added a line to file eclipse ini   C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 02 bin javaw exe   That worked for me

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This might happen if you have several versions of Java on the same machine  To fix this I did the following    Checked the current JAVA HOME value  In Windows  echo  JAVA HOME  Accessed the route of javaw exe Replaced the shortcuts pointing to the Java home location

User · Answer

I have just solved the same issue upon setting up my Windows 8 1 PC  Exactly like  George Papatheodorou mentioned above  sorry I cannot add a comment   Eclipse and JRE must be both 64 bit or 32 bit   However  it seems for Windows 8 8 1 environment  you are going to get 32-bit JRE by default  and I do not know where to change that default for the download   as explained here  http   java com en download faq win8 faq xml  I was using 64-bit Eclipse so there was a discrepancy  I then installed 32-bit Eclipse and everything works fine this time   So before bothering changing any environment variables  check your JRE and Eclipse version   Of course you can use 64-bit JRE with 64-bit Eclipse  Just make sure they match because Windows 8 1 will give you 32-bit by default

User · Answer

Locate eclipse ini   Often at C  Users xxx eclipse jee-neon eclipse  add   -vm  C  Program Files  x86  Java jre7 bin javaw exe   after  --launcher appendVmargs

User · Answer

it could be JDK combinations issue or JDK version issue select proper one  i am using combination of 64-bit Operating System  64-bit JDK  64-bit Eclipse IDE

User · Answer

It could be due to too little memory  You can modify the eclipse ini file to increase the memory  Something like this might help you  FAQ How do I increase the heap size available to Eclipse

User · Answer

Adding vm argument to  ini file worked for me  -vm C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 65 bin javaw exe

User · Answer

I was facing the same issue  I had installed version 8 and update 25 32 bit   To fix  install Java SE Development Kit 7 Update 71  64 bit   Then through appwiz cpl  delete the other version i e  Java Update 25  Done

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I had the same issue after I upgraded my JDK from 1 7 to 1 8  I m using Eclipse 4 4  Luna   The error is gone after I degrade JDK to 1 7

User · Answer

I also encountered the same issue  It turned out that the environment variable Path was pointing to an incorrect Java version   Please check the environment variable and point it to the correct Java  For example    C  Program Files  x86  Java jdk1 6 0 17 bin   To check the environment variable  go to   Computer   properties   Advanced system settings   Advanced - gt  Environment variables

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The best answer here is too long  I cannot comment so I added my answer    Go here  http   www oracle com technetwork java javase downloads index html Download the latest SDK  of course for x64 if your computer is x64  Install it Now the party is finished  and it s time to work with Eclipse

User · Answer

This type of errors occur basically due to use of different versions of Java with different version of Eclipse   Suppose you are installing the 64-bit JDK on your system  Then make sure you install the 64-bit versioned Eclipse with it   And if you are installing the 32-bit JDK on your system then make sure you install 32-bit versioned Eclipse with it   I had the similar problem  I have installed the 32-bit JDK and was trying to use 64-bit Eclipse   But when I installed the 64-bit JDK on my system then Eclipse started working without any problem   It is advised to better install the 32-bit version of Java along with the 32-bit version Eclipse on a system with a 32-bit configuration and similarly for 64-bit systems   This helps to increase performance of the system

User · Answer

It turned out I only had the 32-bit Java runtime installed   C  Program Files  x86  Java jre1 8 0 45    All Eclipse really wanted was for me to install the 64-bit Java runtime   lt   SOLVED  Java SE Runtime Environment 8u45  jdk-8u45-windows-x64 exe   http   www oracle com technetwork java javase downloads jre8-downloads-2133155 html  Confirm your installation by checking you now have this folder      C  Program Files Java jre1 8 0 45

User · Answer

Under system environment variables  make sure  C  ProgramData Oracle Java javapath  is removed  Under system environment variables  make sure  C  Program Files Java jdk1 8 0 131 bin  is added

User · Answer

I ve solved this issue by installing a JDK  v7 update 80  whereas I had only had the JRE installed before   Note  This was for IBM s RTC software  built on Eclipse

User · Answer

If you have recently installed Java 8 and uninstalled Java 7  install JDK 8 and retry

User · Answer

Make sure you don t have special characters           etc   at Eclipse path

User · Answer

The solution is simple  Put the  eclipse  folder on  C  Program Files   If it does not work  put it in  C  Program Files  x86

User · Answer

The strangest fix ever  Look at your Eclipse path  and make sure you do not have strange characters  like       and     It worked for me

User · Answer

I tried the following solution   I created a shortcut of javaw exe from path C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 71 bin and pasted it into the path C  ProgramData Oracle Java javapath   After that  I launched Eclipse  and it worked for me

User · Answer

At the risk of not adding a great deal of value to the existing answers  but having gone through all this mess myself  I would like to see if I can consolidate how I addressed the problem    Maintain separate Development from your normal machine environments   The reason for this is that there are probably many applications running on your machine that you are not aware of that need Java to be updated occasionally  for example banking and security applications   When those updates occur they change the environmental variables and so if you are using those in your development environment the update will almost certainly break your Eclipse setup   Install versions of Eclipse  either 32 and 64 bit depending on your plugins etc   The reason is that many plugins still require 32bit and trying to install them into a 64bit environment causes many obscure  very obscure  errors   This means for example you may have to have separate instances of Eclipse for your  Java EE  PHP  Python  Assembler  etc   development environments   This may appear to be onerous   but for me this has been a blessing  Install two Java runtimes once again one 32bit and one 64bit and then edit the eclipse ini for each of your installations to point to the correct JRE  not the JRE HOME in the environmental variables   I create a directory in C  Java 64bit jdk1 7 0 15  and C  Java 32bit etc and in your eclipse ini file you add the -vm C  Java 64bit jdk1 7 0 15 bin line to point to your needed java runtime    Once the above is done you can install Java SDKs updates as much as you like but your development environment will never break   If you need to update your development runtime environment just alter the -vm path in your eclipse ini

User · Answer

Please check whether you have set two JAVA paths in the Environment Variable section  If you already installed two versions of the JDK  it might be  then double check you have put PATH for Java like below   PATH -- gt   C  ProgramData Oracle Java javapath   and also  JAVA HOME --- gt  C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 02 bin   If both are there  then this sort of error may occur   If it s OK  then check in the   ini  file the below area is OK or not  Open   ini  file and check   -VM  path is  C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 79 bin    If not  please set it like that and run again

User · Answer

In my case  I have two different JDK that is IBM and Oracle JDK  I moved IBM JDK to the top of the Oracle JDK in environment variable then it worked  Note  I am going to use IBM JDK so I moved up

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In case your machine has multiple Java versions installed  you can simply tell eclipse which and from where to use javaw exe   In my case I have IBM JDK  with oracle JDK too  but for eclipse to pickup  Added below lines in eclipse ini file in eclipse directory and it worked   -vm C  WAS9DEV java 8 0 bin javaw exe   Path to your java folder has to be replaced in above example  Hope it helps

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I had this issue   I installed Java 8 update 25 via Chrome  and therafter attempting to start Eclipse gave the mentioned error   Uninstalled that update  and Eclipse works again

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The top answer didn t work for me  I had no environment variables defining the Java path or no Java in my path   However  the path C  ProgramData Oracle Java javapath javaw exe was always present in the Eclipse 4 5  Mars  error popup in the -vm option even if I tried to override in file eclipse ini   I worked around this by opening a command prompt  cd ing the directory where the eclipse exe was and using MKLink   C  EclipseMars gt  mklink javaw exe  C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 79 bin  symbolic link created for javaw exe  lt  lt     gt  gt  C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 79 bin   No changes to eclipse ini were required   I did try to specify the -vm option of in eclipse ini  and it was taken into account  but in the error popup a -vm option was present twice even if only one -vm was present in eclipse ini   In my eclipse ini I have no -vm option and just the symlink seems to have corrected it

[java] Can't start Eclipse - Java was started but returned exit code=13

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