JVM terminated. Exit code=-1

Can’t open Eclipse.

http://saloon.javaranch.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=12&t=004485

Symptom:
When starting IBM’s Rational Application Developer (IRAD 7) using eclipse.exe, you get the following error:
JVM terminated. Exit code=1
C:\Program Files\IBM\SDP70\jdk\jre\bin\javaw.exe
-Xquickstart
-Xms512m
-Xmx1024m
-Xgcpolicy:gencon
-Xsharedclasses:singleJVM,keep
-Xnolinenumbers
-XX:MaxPermSize=1024
blah…blah…blah
Problem: eclipse.ini file duplicates existing configuration entries

Quick fix:

 backup the eclipse.ini file,

 and then blank out the origial

 so there is no text in the

eclipse.ini file

 

(deleted content:)

-showsplash
org.eclipse.platform
–launcher.XXMaxPermSize
128M
-vmargs
-Xms40m
-Xmx512m

Proper fix: call IBM support and follow thier instructions. This is not an IBM supported, or IBM recommended fix.
Long, Self-Indulgent, Dialog:
Okay, it’s Christmas, and the best gifts to give are the ones you give yourself. So, I went out and bought myself a refurbished eMachine with a semaphone processor and 1.5 Gigs of RAM. IRAD 7 has just been released, and I wanted a taste of it. Some people spend time with their families at Christmas – I spend time with my computer.
Anyways, I’m a total WebSphere dude, so I was looking forward to installing and testing out IRAD 7. I downloaded like 10 CDs worth of files from IBM, and began the install.
The installation begins with the installation of an installation installer. This always annoys me. Why am I installing an installer to install a product? Why can’t I just install the product? Well, I know the idea – that the IBM Installation Manager can manage the installation, just like Java Web Start technology, or even Windows Update. Still, it annoys me, but I do accept that the people at IBM are much smarter and wiser than me, so I defer to their greater wisdom.
The installation went smoothly, and I selected just about every option possible, with an eye on Portal development tools, as that’s what’s on my plate right now. The installation went well, and after completion, the IRAD tool started up, and I created a workspace and a project. Life was good.
I shutdown the eMachine, and came back about a day later. When I rebooted, I got the annoying message that siad JVM Terminated. Exit Code=1
I googled the error, and realized that I wasn’t the only person running into the problem.
This thread suggested that the metadata/lock file was the problem, especially if eclipse didn’t shut down correct. I had a lock file and deleted it, but still, Exit Code=1 kept coming up.
Digging a little deeper, this other thread suggested I needed to install JDK 1.5, and set the PATH and JAVA_HOME. It suggested that IRAD might get upset if there was another JDK version on the filesystem or something. Now, this seemed strange, because I had a brand new operating system, with nothing but a barebones Windows XP. There was no DB2 or Oracle that might surreptitiously have installed a JDK. Furthermore, IRAD installs its own JRE 1.5, so it should be using its own. Still, I set the PATH and JAVA_HOME to point at the JDK installed by the glorious Installation Manager. I rebooted, but still, I kept getting JVM Terminated. Exit Code=1
Now, somebody mentioned that maybe I should up the Xms512 to somethig larger. Pehaps the JVM wasn’t getting enough memory. However, the launcher just called the eclipse.exe file. I was curiousas to where the parameters were being initialized, which is what lead me to the eclipse.ini file.
Now what I noticed was that the things that were being displayed in the error weren’t in the same order as the eclipse.ini file. When I looked closer, I saw that parameters for a javaw.exe were being set, and then they were being SET AGAIN, and the second time around, the initializations were in the same order as the eclipse.ini file. So, eclipse was getting run with various initialization parameters, and then it was reading the eclipse.ini file, and trying to do all the initializations again.
So, I backed up the eclipse.ini file, and then erased the contents of the original. Then I launched IBM’s Rational Application Developer 7, and guess what? The darn thing started up.
I shut it down and replaced the new eclipse.ini file with the old one, and guess what? JVM Terminated: Exit Code 1.
So, it looks like the fabulous installation manager is managing to incorrectly configure IRAD 7, especially when you choose to install almost all of the funky features like portal and so on.
Still, it’s just a little bump in the road. I can’t wait to see what else IRAD 7 has in store for me.
Happy WebSphere!
-Cameron McKenzie

[ December 26, 2006: Message edited by: Cameron W. McKenzie ]