Re: V.6.0.2 gripes...
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg86679] Re: V.6.0.2 gripes...
- From: David Bailey <dave at Remove_Thisdbailey.co.uk>
- Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:49:31 -0500 (EST)
- References: <fr8b56$gu8$1@smc.vnet.net> <frash5$1no$1@smc.vnet.net> <frcluo$rrv$1@smc.vnet.net> <frdft4$b0d$1@smc.vnet.net> <frkv56$vf$1@smc.vnet.net>
Helen Read wrote: > David Bailey wrote: >> Helen Read wrote: >>> We have been seeing the Java timeout error a lot, on machines on campus >>> and at home. It started a few months ago, and the upgrade from 6.0.1 to >>> 6.0.2 has not helped. If anything, I'm seeing the Java timeout more >>> frequently than before, even on two very speedy new machines where I was >>> rarely getting the Java error before. What happens much/most of the time >>> now is that when you start up Mathematica and go to execute a command, >>> Mathematica just hangs for a while. Eventually, after quite a long wait, >>> you get the first output, together with the Java timeout error. >>> *Usually* it's OK if you quit Mathematica and restart, or if you just >>> close up the error window and go on. >>> >> In the absence of a definitive response from WRI, I think it would be >> worth experimenting with a machine disconnected from the internet. I >> don't get this problem myself, but I have written code that depended on >> paclet information. This worked well if the machine could not access the >> internet (once the relevant data had been downloaded once) and well if >> the machine had a good internet connection. However with a weak >> connection, the system would seem to start the check for more up to date >> information, and then get stuck/crash. > > It seems unrelated to internet access. We have quite good connections at > the university, and we get the Java error there all the time. I have > dial-up at home, and I get the Java error regardless of whether I am > connected. > >> I wonder if Mathematica is trying to update some component on startup. >> Any internet access would probably occur via Java. In particular, have >> you configured your Mathematica to pre-load any software? > > Nope. But apparently Mathematica itself tries to load some Java stuff on > startup, hence the timeout errors. > Clearly Mathematica must only wait for so long for Java to come live, so a sufficient delay in starting Java will cause the problem. I am trying to think of ways in which your machine (is it Windows XP, which I use, or the dreaded Vista) might differ from mine, because so far I have never seen the timeout. One obvious possibility raised by the original post is that your virus scanner introduces some delay - maybe only the first time a command executes... Disconnecting both the internet and your virus scanner would be an interesting experiment. Failing that, I would try disabling any other software that you have running - again as an experiment. Of course, a very old and slow machine might fall foul of a timeout. David Bailey http://www.dbaileyconsultancy.co.uk