FULL PRODUCT VERSION :
JRE 6.0 update 2

ADDITIONAL OS VERSION INFORMATION :
Windows XP Home Edition SP2

A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM :
Recently installed comprehensive Java Standard Edition 1.6 Update 2 development kit with NetBeans 5.5.1. Immediately after installation Internet Explorer 7 would abort on startup (window would appear for a moment and then vanish).

Prior to this event, JRE 6.0 Update 1 and JDK 6.0 with Netbeans 5.5 were installed and there were no problems.


STEPS TO FOLLOW TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM :
Install Internet Explorer version Version 7.0.5730.11
Install Java Runtime Environment 6 Update 2 package.


EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL BEHAVIOR :
EXPECTED -
Internet Explorer 7 would open and function normally.
ACTUAL -
Internet Explorer 7 will fail to open or start to open momentarily (a partial blank window will apper) and then vanish. Rebooting or reinstalling IE7 will not improve the situation.

ERROR MESSAGES/STACK TRACES THAT OCCUR :
No error messages. IE7 would not reach a point of functioning in an accessible manner.

REPRODUCIBILITY :
This bug can be reproduced always.

CUSTOMER SUBMITTED WORKAROUND :
Deleting the JDK 6 Update 2 and Netbeans 5.5.1 had no effect. Uninstalling and reinstalling IE7 did not cause IE7 to recover normal performance.

I was able to isolate the problem to an add-on in IE7 by finally being able to start IE7 without add-ons (to get this option on IE7 right click on the IE7 desktop icon). This confirmed to me that IE7 was being interfered with by an add-on.

I was able to isolate the problem to the Java RE and permanently restore full functionality to IE7 by uninstalling the Java Runtime Environment 6 Update 2. I currently have normal function of IE7 under Java Runtime Envronment 6 Update 1. I was able to duplicate the problem by doing a test reinstall and uninstall of Java Runtime Envrionment 6 Update 2.

I suspect the problem has to do with changes in the Sun Java Console add-on (or some other add-on) for Internet Explorer that were made in the Java Runtime Environment 6 Update 2.

I strongly suspect that I am not the only party with this problem.

Release Regression From : 6u1
The above release value was the last known release where this
bug was not reproducible. Since then there has been a regression.