Mac OS X 10.4.5 or later: Java issues after installing J2SE 5.0 Release 4 update

When you install the software update for Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 Release 4 for Mac OS X v10.4.5 or later, it will change the default version of Java virtual machine from Java 1.4.2 to Java 5.0.

If the Java applications or Java-enabled websites that you use most often do not behave as expected after applying the Java 5.0 Release 4 update, you can consider changing the Java default back to 1.4.2.

To do that, follow these steps:

1. From the Go menu, choose Utilities.
2. Open the Java folder, then open the J2SE 5.0 folder inside of it.
3. Open the Java Preferences application.
4. At the top of the Java Preferences window, next to Use version, is a pop-up menu where you can set the version used for applets.
5. In the middle of the Java Preferences window, you should see Java Application Runtime Settings, and below that a while field in which you can drag the most preferred version to the top of the list. Drag 1.4.2 to the top. This controls the order in which Java versions are used for applications that use the Java Network Launching Protocol.
6. Click the Save button, and quit Java Preferences.