Error when checking Java version: could not find java.dll

Question

why do I get this? How can I fix it?

C:\Users\ash>java version Error: Registry key 'Software\JavaSoft\Java Runtime Environment'\CurrentVersion' has value '1.7.0_01', but '1.7' is required. Error: could not find java.dll Error: Could not find Java SE Runtime Environment. 

Answer 1

The accepted solution for Reinstalling ALL JDKs was a bit harsh. I too experienced this problem and here is my 2 cents:

This problem started happening since I installed JDK 8 and still had JDK 6 installed. I need for different projects I'm working on.

I noticed I had both a User and a System %JAVA_HOME%, so I removed my User %JAVA_HOME% variable and left only the system one.

I also noticed that in my Oracle installation there was some Java executables and I believe those where the ones conflicting since both my Oracle and Java installations were in my %PATH% variable.

I removed all Java paths from my %PATH% Variable and only left the %JAVA_HOME%\bin at the start of the variable for avoiding any conflicts with the Oracle installation.

Answer 2

I had a similar issue after installing the java 1.8.

To fix this go to Advance System setting --> path and remove

C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath;