Java installation failed

[pllcull08]

Whenever I try to install Java (8 Update 60) for Mac OS X, it fails. The download is successful and goes to my Downloads, then I open it up, and begin the process:

I click continue on the Introduction stage.

It skips directly to Installation Type where it informs me that 179.1MB will be required for the install. I click install.

It asks for my password. I enter the password and click Install Software (Note that as I begin entering my password, the little rainbow pinwheel begins spinning and replaces the mouse cursor).

Within less than a second of clicking Install Software, it reads "Configuring the installation", and then immediately comes up with a large yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in the centre, saying "The installation failed. The installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance."

I have contacted Apple Support and they were fairly useless, merely telling me to try installing older versions, restarting my MacBook, etc. I even tried to install it in Safe Mode but that had no effect either. It still failed even in Safe Mode.

Does anybody have any experience with this issue? I tried Java 8 and some older Java version and both failed.

 

[pllcull08]

94 views and not one response. really?

 

[DeltaMac]

Sometimes the installer will show an error, when, in fact, the software installed successfully.

What version of Java do you have installed now?
Check at this site as a test.

 

[pllcull08]

Sometimes the installer will show an error, when, in fact, the software installed successfully.

What version of Java do you have installed now?
Check at this site as a test.

Hi there, thanks for responding.

I clicked on the link you gave and clicked "verify version" and it says "missing plug-in" presumably because I don't have Java installed at all.

It's really strange how it hasn't been able to install. I've been in contact with Apple Support, reset my MacBook to factory settings and reinstalled the OS, and it STILL won't install! I really don't get it at all.

What on earth am I doing wrong?

 

[DeltaMac]

Do you have a Java icon in your System Preferences?

Have you tried downloading the installer again, then trying the install
Download from here - https://www.java.com/en/download/mac_download.jsp

Maybe this page will help - https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/java_mac.xml

Finally, Have you ever had Java installed on this Mac? Might help if you uninstalled Java first. You can check in the listed locations to see what you have (or what you don't have!)
https://www.java.com/en/download/help/mac_uninstall_java.xml

 

[pllcull08]

Do you have a Java icon in your System Preferences?

Have you tried downloading the installer again, then trying the install
Download from here - https://www.java.com/en/download/mac_download.jsp

Maybe this page will help - https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/java_mac.xml

Finally, Have you ever had Java installed on this Mac? Might help if you uninstalled Java first. You can check in the listed locations to see what you have (or what you don't have!)
https://www.java.com/en/download/help/mac_uninstall_java.xml

No Java icon in my system preferences.

I've deleted the download and redownloaded it several times but no changes it always fails at that same spot.

Yes I do believe I had Java installed just last week. I was playing an online game last week and it worked fine but this past weekend when I tried to play it it kept loading to 100% and then freezing. When I troubleshooted it, the website told me my Java was outdated and I tried to update it but it didn't work. One of the suggested solutions was to completely remove Java and from there reinstall it from scratch since the update wasn't working. And here we are now as it won't install.

 

[pllcull08]

Do you have a Java icon in your System Preferences?

Have you tried downloading the installer again, then trying the install
Download from here - https://www.java.com/en/download/mac_download.jsp

Maybe this page will help - https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/java_mac.xml

Finally, Have you ever had Java installed on this Mac? Might help if you uninstalled Java first. You can check in the listed locations to see what you have (or what you don't have!)
https://www.java.com/en/download/help/mac_uninstall_java.xml

I have to ask, is Java actually necessary to have on a MacBook? For example, if I don't have it, will I be unable to use a lot of websites or programmes? As I said the only thing I haven't really been able to do is play the online game, everything else seems to be behaving normally.

So essentially what I'm asking is can I live without Java? If I just give up on the online game then it'll be as if I have no need for Java correct?

Obviously once there's a new Java version or a new Mac OS X Yosemite update I'll do the update and then try to download it again and see if it works then.

 

[DeltaMac]

Lots of folks get through life just fine without ever needing Java.
That being said - if you need Java because of one or two games that you like, then you also need to discover how to install it. You may be some corruption in system files, or simply something else that is not installed properly, and interfering somehow with other installs (Problems with Java may simply be the result, and might not be the cause)
My suggestion - if you really want to solve this, is to try downloading, then installing the current OS X combo updater.
If you have Yosemite, you can get that installer here - https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1832
If that doesn't help, then reinstall OS X. There's lots of information about how to make a bootable USB installer for the last few generations of OS X.