Help! Limewire won't run when Java Access bridge is installed!

[whocrazy]

Hello there. I am totally blind and I use a text to speech synthesiser. I require the use of java access bridge in order to use java apps with my text to speech screenreader, However, when I try to run limewire with java access bridge installed, Nothing happens, no errors, no nothing, limewire just won't run, period.
I tried to leave feedback in the limewire website, but the feedback form is broken, the next obstacle I had to overcome was the image verification on forum
registration, with some sighted assistance, so here I am.
Is anybody from the limewire programming team or is someone else able to help? I really want to use limewire but can't because of this Major Stumbling block.
I have the latest Java runtime environment installed, I downloaded it yesterday. It was only by accident that I discovered the reason for limewire not running, when I started uninstalling things.
I had a hunch and straight after java access bridge was uninstalled, I restarted my machine and ran limewire. Limewire ran, but of course I couldn't use the thing because there was no java access bridge installed, so I reinstalled java access bridge, restarted my machine and sure enough, limewire wouldn't run.
Can anyone help me get limewire working?
Thanks.

[whocrazy]

Hi again. Tried the latest LimeWire 4.14.5, still won't run unless I uninstall java access bridge, which I simply am not going to do because I need it for java applications.
Anyone out there able to offer any suggestions?

[Sam]

Has any version of LimeWire ever worked?

[whocrazy]

I dont know. this is the first time I've ever tried out limewire.

[whocrazy]

Hi again. Just tried to download an older limewire version but the only one I could find was for a mac, I dont use a mac, I have windows xp.

[Only A Hobo]

Some have found that Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0 Update 12 available from http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index_jdk5.jsp works best with Windows XP and Limewire I have no idea if it is an option you might be able to use with your set up, but it may help. I believe you will need to remove Java 6 and other versions of Java you may have installed also.

[whocrazy]

Hi again. The problem relates to the java access bridge being installed, not the java runtime environment, Yes, the java access bridge is made by sun, but it is a separate product to be installed along side the java runtime environment.
if I uninstall the java access bridge, limewire runs without a hitch, it's just that I can't use it with speech.

[whocrazy]

Isn't anyone else out there able to help wit my issues with java access bridge and limewire?
As I've said before, uninstalling java access bridge is out of the question.
Oh yes, and I've tried uninstalling java runtime environment and then reinstalling it, then reinstalling java access bridge, but I still can't run the stupid thing!

[whocrazy]

I'm still waiting for someone to come on the scene who is able to help with my issue with java access bridge.
Yes I've tried the tech support forum, but No help so far.

[Kath]

I was hoping Sam would come up with an answer.

Maybe you could contact the manufacurer of Java Access Bridge to see if there is any history of conflicts. Usually the program makers like to hear of anything that doesn't work correctly so they can possibly make changes.

Have you tried other applications like 'Jaws'? I know nothing about how these applications work or whether there is some incompatiblity between Java and LimeWire with all of them.

[whocrazy]

Hello there.
just to clear a few things up.
1. Java access bridge is made by sun, the same people who make the java runtime environment
2. Java access bridge isn't a screenreader, it is an interface for making java applications more user friendly for people who do have screenreaders.
3. and Yes, I've emailed the accessibility department at sun, but so far, no luck.
and last but not least, unloading my screenreader from memory and running limewire doesn't solve the problem, limewire won't run even with the screenreader unloaded from memory, it's only because the java access bridge is installed that limewire refuses to run.
Are you able to give me some locations where I can try out each version of limewire until I find one that works?
IE, I want to work my way down from version 4.14.6, 4.14.5, 4.14.4 etc.
If I can at least find a version of limewire which works, then we can go some way towards finding out why the latest releases won't run.
btw: the java access bridge is freely available for download, google java access bridge if interested.

[Only A Hobo]

Hi again, I have removed the irrelevant posts from this thread and have to admit to being in totally new territory regarding your problem. The recommendation to the other forums was to the other poster who should have started a new thread.

Kath did mention JAWS and I don't know if this is something you know about or could be relevant.

I found a similarish question posted on the Jawsscripts mailing list: http://blindprogramming.com/pipermail/jawsscripts_blindprogramming.com/2007-June/016502.html
each post is on a new page as far as I can see.


The intoductory page for the mailing list is http://blindprogramming.com/mailman/listinfo/jawsscripts_blindprogramming.com


Obtaining older versions of Limewire might not be that easy, unless someone has them all, I have many Mac versions only. and I'm not convinced this would be the solution.

Version 4.13.13 Beta is available here:

http://www9.limewire.com/beta/4.13.13/LimeWireWin.exe

and

http://oldapps.com/limewire.htm had a small number of versions, but I would not imagine any of there versions before 4.10.0 would be worth trying.

I was hoping someone with some knowlege of this might reply, but I suspect that a visually impaired forum or mailing list might be the best place to find help.

I shall continue to see what I can find out, as I realize this must be frustrating for you, but please let me know if anything I've said sounds possibly helpful

[whocrazy]

I just tried downloading 4.13.13 and it didn't work, but I tried some of the earlier versions like 4.13.4 and they did work. so clearly something has changed since at least 4.13.4

[Sam]

An older version worked? Wow, OK. We'll try to setup links for each successive version, and we can narrow it down to which one broke it.

Thanks.

[whocrazy]

Update! Limewire 4.13.8 also works.
Another thing I've noticed Is that the more recent versions of limewireHave an extra folder called lib where all the .jar files and stuff is stored, these are the versions that dont work, whereas with the older versions, all the jar and dll files are stored in the main limewire folder. I tried moving the files out of the lib folder in to the main limewire folder on the latest limewire version, and limewire launcher gave me an error and asked me to reinstall.
btw, sam if you want to test out java access bridge's instalation with limewire, java access bridge is freely available to download, No it's not a screenreader, but it provides support for screenreaders like jaws and hal.
Oh, btw, I got an email from the java accessibility group about my issue, and they say it's not an access bridge bug, but a limewire bug.
So where to from now?
My concern is that some vulnerability might be found in older limewire versions which will mean I won't be able to use any new version of lame. oops. I mean limewire, that is until the bug has been squashed.

[Sam]

If they could let us know what the bug is, we'd love to know. :)

We'll check out the problems in the meantime, though.

[whocrazy]

Hi. this is the message I got from the java people
Stephen,

I just installed Lime Wire and found the same problem. Unfortunately, I cannot help with this problem since this appears to be a Lime Wire bug. The Java Access Bridge wasn't even running when I tried to start Lime Wire.
-----------
Well there you go, not much more I can do until you guys figure out a solution.
It would be nice if I was able to get some sort of log of what is going on while limewire is starting up, but as it stands I dont get any errors, no nothing.

[whocrazy]

! ! N E W S F L A S H ! ! ! !
Ok, now that I have your attention, let me tell you of this great breakthrough!
There are some files in the java access bridge folder.
They are:
access-bridge.jar
accessibility.properties
jaccess-1_2.jar
jaccess-1_3.jar
jaccess-1_4.jar
jaccess-examples.jar
JavaAccessBridge.dll
JAWTAccessBridge.dll
WindowsAccessBridge.dll
I simply copied these files into the lib folder off the main limewire folder and voila!!
Limewire worked perfectly!
so.. Problem solved!

[Kath]

What a breakthrough.. maybe you could let them know what you did here http://blindprogramming.com/pipermail/jawsscripts_blindprogramming.com/2007-June/016502.html

[whocrazy]

Hi there.
The issue I was having is unrelated to jaws, there are a couple of other screenreaders that make use of the sun java access bridge, IE, hal and NVDA, and zoomtext.
Jaws is a screenreader made by freedom science fiction... er... freedom scientific, Yes you probably guessed from my little quip that I dont care much for them, the questions on that web page you pointed me to were asking about jaws scripts. Jaws scripts are for making a program's interface easier to navigate. They are unrelated to the issue with limewire that I was having.
One can easily reproduce the bug without any screenreader being installed on the machine, by simply downloading the java access bridge from sun and installing it, then attempting to install the latest limewire version in the normal fashion.
The java access bridge is simply a helper application to expose the java controls to any screenreader that supports it.
More info can be found at
http://java.sun***************accessbridge/
Anyway, I hope sam gets this message, He'll be very interested in how I worked out the issue