Can't upgrade eclipse or Android ADK and can't find java.exe…hunh?

Question

My frustration runneth over. After two and a half hours, I throw myself on the mercy of the locals here. Long-time oo developer, looking at Android, so have to learn Java... Got eclipse, got it set up to build and run the HelloAndroid sample from the developer.android.com site. Then tried a couple more in a Beginning Android book.....all fine

Then realized I should stick with the straight Java before I went much deeper into Android, and started with some examples from Java for Android Developers... Took a while, but got that working...

Now I'd like to get back to building some basic Android apps. So I went back to run that HelloAndroid app. Still with me?
Console in eclipse says: “ERROR: Unknown command 'crunch'

So I tried what's recommended here: http://www.technotalkative.com/android-error-unknown-command-crunch/ which basically says 'get your SDK release up to r14. Fine, because I realized my SDK had gotten old (currently at r10)

Except trying to do this from the Android SDK in eclipse throws this error several times: "A folder failed to move " and asks to turn off everything except my stereo (that's a joke) to release the file or folder.

Some research shows me that's crap, that the thing is running the update from the folder it wants to rename, so I try to run the suggestions found here: Can't upgrade Android SDK Tools

doing the folder copy and running the new folder's android.bat, with parms, from the console.

And I get "ERROR: No suitable Java found." Apparently, the find_java.bat only looks for java.exe in c:\\Program Files\\Java (64-bit and regular). I look on my PC and it's in c:\\Program Files (x86)\\Java\\jdk1.6.0_21\\bin and in c:\\Program Files (x86)\\Java\\jre6\\bin

BONUS DISASTERS: Tried to run my Java Updater (showing in the systray) since it said there were updates available, but could not download or update. Now, no icon...

And when I tried to update eclipse (build 20100218-1602) from its 'help' menu, as recommended at the same stackoverflow QnA thread('you need Eclipse 3.6 Helios or 3.7 Indico to upgrade your ADT revision 16.') this failed too. Four Available Updates of Android pieces (DDMS, Development tools, Hierarchy Viewer and Traceview) all fail because each " requires 'org.eclipse.ui 3.6.2' but it could not be found. "

Just ran a simple java project, one I'd already built and learned from a book's sample. Ran in eclipse. With the java that can't be found, apparently. Works fine...I lost the card game to the computer.

Maybe it would be smoother and simpler to just buy a Mac mini and learn ObjectiveC. The wife's already got an iPad...

Answer 1

Chances are you dont have java installed into your running PATH environment, and as such it can't find the java. There are steps to add this to your runtime environment, however; it change per OS. Specifically, if you want to fix it.. you need to put it into your PATH.xs