How do I detect whether 32-bit Java is installed on x64 Windows only looking at the filesystem and registry

Question

I need to determine whether a particular system has 32-bit Java installed   I m doing a remote query that only gives me access to the filesystem and registry  so I cannot attempt to run java exe  or run any Java code   I also want to make sure I detect both IBM and Sun Java  as well as any other distributions  which seem to put things in different places on the filesystem and in the registry   The best I ve come up with is to check for C  Windows SysWOW64 java exe   Is this a reliable way to test for the presence of 32-bit Java  or are there certain versions that won t put java exe in that folder   Update  I m still looking for a more robust answer to this  Just to be clear  I don t have access to a command prompt   Also  I want to detect Java no matter who the publisher is  what version number is installed  and no matter what path the user chose to install it on     C  Windows SysWOW64 java exe seems to fit these requirements  but I d love some confirmation from someone more knowledgeable that every Java installer will indeed put that executable there

User · Answer

If it is not Oracle s Java  you may not be able to tell   When I install Oracle Java 64-bit  the files go into C  Program Files Java  but when I install a 32-bit version  they default to C  Program Files  x86  Java instead   Of course  the person who installed Java could have overridden those defaults

User · Answer

Do you have access to the command prompt    Method 1   Command Prompt  The specifics of the Java installed on the system can be determined by executing the following command java -version  Method 2   Folder Structure  In case you do not have access to command prompt then determining the folder where Java   32 Bit   C  Program Files  x86  Java jdk1 6 0 30  64 Bit    C  Program Files Java jdk1 6 0 25  However during the installation it is possible that the user might change the installation folder   Method 3   Registry  You can also see the version installed in registry editor    Go to registry editor Edit -  Find Search for Java  You will get the registry entries for Java   In the entry with name   DisplayName  amp  DisplayVersion  the installed java version is displayed

User · Answer

just write  java -d64 -version  or d32 and if you have It installed it will give a response with current version installed

User · Answer

Check this key for 32 bits and 64 bits Windows machines    HKEY LOCAL MACHINE SOFTWARE JavaSoft Java Runtime Environment   and this for Windows 64 bits with 32 Bits JRE    HKEY LOCAL MACHINE SOFTWARE Wow6432Node JavaSoft Java Runtime Environment   This will work for the oracle-sun JRE

User · Answer

This seems to provide the info on Windows   1   Open a windows command prompt    2   Key in  java -XshowSettings all and hit ENTER    3   A lot of information will be displayed on the command window  Scroll up until you find the string  sun arch data model    4   If it says sun arch data model   32  your VM is 32 bit  If it says sun arch data model   64  your VM is 64 bit

User · Answer

I tried both the 32-bit and 64-bit installers of both Oracle and IBM Java on Windows  and the presence of C  Windows SysWOW64 java exe seems to be a reliable way to determine that 32-bit Java is available   I haven t tested older versions of these installers  but this at least looks like it should be a reliable way to test  for the most recent versions of Java

[64-bit] How do I detect whether 32-bit Java is installed on x64 Windows, only looking at the filesystem and registry?

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