OS X Tip: Execute Java Apps like Minecraft or jDownloader with 64 bit Java 7
Minecraft and other Java apps have the problem that they launch in Java 6 by default. If you are on Mavericks, you will not even have Java 6 anymore. Even though you launch these apps an OS X dialog will ask you to install and use Java 6, instead of the newer Java 7.
The solution is actually pretty simple. Instead of executing these apps using their .app Java launcher, you can execute their .jar directly and OS X will use Java 7.
Head over to Oracle’s website and download Java 7 first and run the installer.1 This will install Java 7 in /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home/bin.
jDownloader
- Right click and choose Show Package Contents.
- Go into Contents → Resources → app.
- Double click
jDownloader.jar
Minecraft (or Feed the Beast):
Minecraft is a bit more trickier. First you have to install a newer version of lwjgl.
For Minecraft:
- Right click and choose Show Package Contents.
- Go into Contents → Resources → Java.
- Double click
Bootstrap.jar
For FTB:
Just double click FTB_Launcher.jar
Note:
You can always check whether something is being executed 64 or 32 bit in Activity Monitor. Just make it show the “kind” column from View.
-
Java Runtime Environment (JRE), not the SDK. ↩