There are 2 flavors of Java a 64bit version and 32bit version. Depending on your machines you may need to install both. We run the 64bit version of Win7 for our enviroment. There seems to be a problem with the installer when installing 32bit version, I don't know the exact cause but the end result is such.
When you deploy the .EXE to the Vista/Win 7 machines the Java install folder is left with a Core.zip file and the error you will recieve will either be "unable to extract Core.zip file" or The Status message may return with a sucessfull install even though it didn't complete. If you go to the Java website it will test your machine and tell you that Java is installed correctly. This is because the registry entries are there but the install didn't complete. If you try to vist a site that requires Java the Browser generally will crash.
How to Fix and Deploy Java
Normal Deployent:
jre-6u22-windows-i586.exe ADDLOCAL=ALL IEXPLORER=1 NETSCAPE=1 MOZILLA=1 JAVAUPDATE=0 /quiet
Modified Deployment:
Start by performing a standard install on a machine. Then depending on which OS you ran it on you can copy the install folder off the machine. The install files are generic so they will work on any OS. You don't need to repeat the install on a different OS.
Vista /Win7
C:\Users\UserNAME\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java
XP
C:\Documents and Settings\UserNAME\Application Data\Sun\Java\[java version]
Here you will find the installer folder with the MSI and files necessary to install. You will need the full contents of the folder, not just the MSI. Copy this folder out and use it to install. Then the command line will be MSI based. You can use this for XP also but I found that with XP the .exe installer works fine.
This MSI install should work fine for your Vista or Win7 machines.
Note: I haven't had any problems with the Java 64bit version installer so you can use the .EXE to deploy that version.
