Problems with Remote Coral:

SNF Lab Members:

I've received a handful of reports over the last week or so about Remote
Coral failing to run. Although I don't fully understand the cause of
this problem, most people have noticed that it has occurred shortly
after their machine was updated to the latest version of the Java
Runtime Environment (JRE). I've received different error reports but
most of them seem to indicate problems with one or more of the signed
jar files ... even though I believe that all of the jar files are
properly signed. There have been reports of problems such as these on
the Oracle Java Web Start discussion forums but, thus far, no details of
what is wrong in the latest JREs. Nonetheless, you should be able to
get Remote Coral running again without resorting to the more drastic
step of removing that JRE.

Thus far, most people have been able to restore Remote Coral
functionality by simply emptying the Java Web Start cache and then
reloading it. Note: thus far this has affected only Windows XP or
Windows 7 machines, so here are instructions for clearing the Java Web
Start cache on thos platforms:


Look for the "Run ..." menu item on your Start menu. When that comes
up, enter the command "javaws -viewer".

That will open a window name Java Control Panel and a second one named
the Java Cache Viewer.

In the Java Cache Viewer you will see the Remote Coral entry named
"Remote Coral (SNF)". Click on that, and then select the large red "X"
at the top-center of that window. That will delete Remote Coral from
your cache.

Then click "Close" on the Java Cache Viewer to close it and "OK" on the
Java Control Panel to close it.

Then point a browser to:

http://snf.stanford.edu/coral/etc/coral.jnlp

A fresh Remote Roral will be installed. I think that there is a 80-90%
chance that this will fix your problem. If not, I can describe more
diagnostics and additional steps that should resolve this for you. Send
me email if this does not work for you.

Note: when you download the fresh version of Remote Coral, you may get a
pop-up window that is a Security Warning. That will be asking you if
you trust software from us (Stanford Nanofabrication Facility) or the
Legion of the Bouncy Castle. The Legion of the Bouncy Castle
(www.bouncycastle.org) is the third-party, open source encryption
package that we use to encrypt/decrypt your Remote Coral passwords. I
certainly trust the code that is contained in their JAR files.

Good luck,

John