Systems Management

Sun's official stance is to leave the old versions on the box as many apps are specifically coded to use a certain version. They have also stated that the new releases actually have updates to older versions built in. So no the old versions are not removed when upgrading. However, some of the older versions may have security holes in them that either need to be patched or the old version removed.

Here are methods for this going forward.
1. Either make a batch file or script that removes every possible older version out there before installing the new version. At the bottom of this post is removal commands for many of the versions.

2. For the Daylight savings update that everyone is scrambling to get out right now you can use the TZUpdater.jar from Java to update previous versions to handle the daylight savings. (google TZUpdater.jar and look for links on Sun's site for more info)

3. Just update to the latest version and hope for the best!

Here are some command lines that I know of for removing older versions (Look in the uninstall reg key for others versions):

Java uninstall String:

'THESE ARE EASY
1.3.1:
C:\WINDOWS\IsUninst.exe -f"C:\Program Files\JavaSoft\JRE\1.3.1\Uninst.isu" -a -y -s

1.3.1_02:
C:\WINNT\IsUninst.exe -f"C:\Program Files\JavaSoft\JRE\1.3.1_02\Uninst.isu" -a -y -s

1.3.1_03:
C:\WINDOWS\IsUninst.exe -f"C:\Program Files\JavaSoft\JRE\1.3.1_03\Uninst.isu" -a -y -s

'ALL OF THESE NEED AN .iss FILE TO UNINSTALL WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE.

1.4.0_03:
RunDll32 C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\INSTAL~1\engine\6\INTEL3~1\Ctor.dll,LaunchSetup "C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{AC1E4C93-C1E7-11D6-9D10-00010240CE95}\Setup.exe" Anytext

1.4.1:
RunDll32 C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\INSTAL~1\engine\6\INTEL3~1\Ctor.dll,LaunchSetup "C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{CD0159C9-17FB-11D6-A76A-00B0D079AF64}\setup.exe" Anytext

1.4.1_02:
RunDll32 C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\INSTAL~1\engine\6\INTEL3~1\Ctor.dll,LaunchSetup "C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{EFCE5837-FC21-11D6-9D24-00010240CE95}\setup.exe" Anytext

1.4.1_04:
RunDll32 C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\INSTAL~1\engine\6\INTEL3~1\Ctor.dll,LaunchSetup "C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{ACD27BF3-7CDC-11D7-9D4D-00010240CE95}\setup.exe" Anytext

1.4.1_05:
RunDll32 C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\INSTAL~1\engine\6\INTEL3~1\Ctor.dll,LaunchSetup "C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{78D082B3-ACEE-11D7-9D64-00010240CE95}\setup.exe" Anytext

'THESE ARE EASY

1.4.2:
MsiExec.exe /x{7148F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0142000} /qn

1.4.2_01:
MsiExec.exe /x{7148F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0142010} /qn

1.4.2_03:
MsiExec.exe /x{7148F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0142030} /qn

1.4.2_05:
MsiExec.exe /x{7148F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0142050} /qn

1.4.2_06:
MsiExec.exe /x{7148F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0142060} /qn

1.4.2_07:
MsiExec.exe /x{7148F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0142070} /qn

1.4.2_10:
MsiExec.exe /x{7148F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0142050} /qn

1.4.2_11:
MsiExec.exe /x{7148F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0142110} /qn

1.4.2_13:
MsiExec.exe /x{35A3A4F4-B792-11D6-A78A-00B0D0142130} /qn

1.5.0:
MsiExec.exe /x{3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0150000} /qn

1.5.0_01:
MsiExec.exe /x{3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0150010} /qn

1.5.0_02:
MsiExec.exe /x{3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0150020} /qn

1.5.0_04:
MsiExec.exe /x{3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0150040} /qn

1.5.0_05:
MsiExec.exe /x{3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0150050} /qn

very complete list of uninstall commands yarborg - but one question:

for versions that aren't installed by MSI (which you can just use a /qn to remove silently) is there a way to remove them without any user intervention? i've tried /S, and it doesnt pop up anything, but it doesnt uninstall either...