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I have a MacBook Pro Retina, running 10.8.1 and Java 1.6.0_35

I need to install some older versions of Java in order to track some bugs that my customers are seeing on older versions of Java.

I tried finding installers for older versions of Java from the Apple Developer Network, but none of them will install on Mountain Lion.

Where can I find installers for older versions of Java? Specifically, 1.6.0_07 and 1.5.0_xx that will run on OSX Mountain Lion?

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1 Answer

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You simply cannot get arbitrary Java versions for the Mac. Apple provides their own Java binaries and does not provide every single Java release. Also, those old versions have known security problems with active exploits in the wild, so it's dangerous to use them on a desktop system.

My best recommendation would be to create a Linux VM using VMware Fusion and install the old versions either from the Linux package installer or using packages downloaded from Oracle.

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Thanks, the bug seems to be specific to some Apple JVMs, so installing on Linux won't help solve the problem. – JohnnyO Oct 31 '12 at 17:04
@Johnny, you can get Java 1.6.0_07 for Leopard, or Java 1.5.0_30 for Leopard along with Java 1.6.0_26 but there's no reason to think it will work on Mountain Lion. Which is to say there's no reason to think there exists Mountain Lion compatible ports of Java at the versions you are looking for. – Old Pro Nov 1 '12 at 21:28

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