Cannot open Vassal any more ...

Thus spake crozzelle:

I previously installed 64 bit Java & just now tested it using the online
verification app at Java.com. It says I have no out of date versions
installed and that my current version is the “recommended” one. There
is no error message from Java when I try to open Vassal.

  1. Have you checked that you have 64-bit Java installed instead of 32-bit?
  2. How did you check that you have only one version of Java installed?
  3. Have you checked whether Java works?

For 1 and 2, the way to check that is in “Install/Remove Programs” in
the Windows Control Panel.

For 3, please follow the instructions in the “Check whether Java works”
section (vassalengine.org/wiki/VASSAL … Java_works) and post the output here.


J.

I have now tried both 32 bit & 64 bit Java. Following your instructions: No other versions appear in the list of installed programs; Checking it with the Cmd line yields the appropriate responses. I still have an empty folder where the error log should be … and Vassal still does not open or report any error when I try to start it.

Thus spake crozzelle:

I have now tried both 32 bit & 64 bit Java.

You should not have 32-bit Java installed. If you do, uninstall it.

Following your
instructions: No other versions appear in the list of installed
programs; Checking it with the Cmd line yields the appropriate
responses. I still have an empty folder where the error log should be
… and Vassal still does not open or report any error when I try to
start it.

The next thing to check is whether you can start VASSAL manually.

At a command prompt, run:

java -classpath path/to/lib/Vengine.jar VASSAL.launch.ModuleManager

where you replace “path/to/” with the path to “lib/Vengine.jar”, which
you will find where you installed VASSAL.

What happens when you do that?


J.

After returning to 64 bit Java I found Vengine.jar in 2 places on my hard drive so I tried the command on both and got the same answer each time. Here’s what I got in the black box:

Error: Could not find or load main class classpath.

Thus spake crozzelle:

After returning to 64 bit Java I found Vengine.jar in 2 places on my
hard drive so I tried the command on both and got the same answer each
time. Here’s what I got in the black box:

Error: Could not find or load main class classpath.

That means you got the path wrong.

Show me the command prompt, the command you typed, and the result.


J.

The command prompt is C:\Users\cjroz

This time I typed: java -classpath Program Files/Vassal-3.2.17/lib/Vengine.jar

The response was: Error: Could not find or load main class Files.Vassal-3.2.17.lib.Vengine.jar

Thus spake crozzelle:

The command prompt is C:\Users\cjroz

This time I typed: java -classpath Program
Files/Vassal-3.2.17/lib/Vengine.jar

The response was: Error: Could not find or load main class
Files.Vassal-3.2.17.lib.Vengine.jar

Is Vengine.jar in C:\Users\cjroz\Program Files\Vassal-3.2.17\lib?


J.

Vengine.jar is found in C:\Program Files\Vassal-3.2.17\lib

Do I need to change my command prompt to C:\ before entering the command? If so, how do I do that?

Thus spake crozzelle:

Vengine.jar is found in C:\Program Files\Vassal-3.2.17\lib

This is the path you need for the argument to “-classpath”. The
full command should be:’

java -classpath C:\Program Files\Vassal-3.2.17\lib VASSAL.launch.ModuleManager
You might need double quotes around the path, as it contains spaces.

Do I need to change my command prompt to C:\ before entering the
command? If so, how do I do that?

No, but the way to change directory is with “cd”.


J.

Thanks for your patience with me on this problem. I’ve decided to do a fresh install of Windows 7 to see if that fixes it. If not, I will be back.

Thus spake crozzelle:

Thanks for your patience with me on this problem. I’ve decided to do a
fresh install of Windows 7 to see if that fixes it. If not, I will be
back.

That’s a huge waste of time. If you try what I suggested last, we’ll
see what’s wrong.


J.

IT support was not supportive so my laptop did not get Windows re-installed after all. Below is a screen capture of what you requested…

[attachment=1]JavaError.JPG[/attachment]

Below is the part that wouldn’t fit in the window on my screen.

[attachment=0]JavaError2.JPG[/attachment]

Thus spake crozzelle:

IT support was not supportive so my laptop did not get Windows
re-installed after all. Below is a screen capture of what you
requested…

JavaError.JPG

This didn’t work because the closing quote is in the wrong place. Try
again with this:

java -classpath “C:\Program Files\Vassal-3.2.17\lib” VASSAL.launch.ModuleManager

and post the result.


J.

Here it is …

[attachment=0]JavaError3.JPG[/attachment]

Thus spake crozzelle:

Here it is …

I’m sorry. My fault this time. I left off the name of the JAR file.
What it should be is this:

java -classpath “C:\Program Files\Vassal-3.2.17\lib\Vengine.jar” VASSAL.launch.ModuleManager


J.

And now for something completely different …

[attachment=0]JavaError4.JPG[/attachment]

Thus spake crozzelle:

And now for something completely different …

Right, this is what I was wanting to see from the start. The problem
you’re having is that one of the files VASSAL checks when it opens
has the wrong permissions.

It’s safe to delete C:\Users\cjroz\AppData\Roaming\VASSAL\lock, as
it’s recreated when VASSAL starts. After that, I expect VASSAL to work
for you again.


J.

No such luck. I found the lock file by revealing hidden files in that folder, then I deleted it. Vassal still did not open so I looked in that folder again to find a brand new lock file, created at the date/time I’d just tried to open Vassal. I suppose that the “wrong permissions” haven’t gone away. Also, there is an error log file in there dated from approximately the time this problem arose…

it creates a new lock file every time I delete one then try to open Vassal. Opening the lock file (0KB) with Notepad I find nothing – no characters at all.

Thus spake crozzelle:

it creates a new lock file every time I delete one then try to open
Vassal. Opening the lock file (0KB) with Notepad I find nothing – no
characters at all.

This is all as expected. The lock file is supposed to be created when
you open the Module Manager and should be empty.


J.