View source for MIRC Installation on Vista

This article describes how to install MIRC on a Vista system. The procedure is quite different from that for XP because Vista treats Windows services differently from XP. Currently (5/2007), Tomcat cannot run under Vista as a Windows service. This means that Tomcat cannot be installed using the Tomcat service installer for Windows. Instead, it must be installed by expanding the Tomcat zip file. This in turn requires that the Java Developer's Kit (JDK) be installed rather than just the JRE, which is sufficient for running as a Windows service.

==Install the Java Developer's Kit==
Download the latest standard edition JDK for Windows from http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp. It will have a name like <b>jdk-6u1-windows-i586-p.exe</b>.

If you obtained a MIRC Installation CD at the 2008 RSNA annual meeting, the JDK is in the <b>MIRC_Installation/Java/Windows_Vista</b> folder.

Run the file. The installer will provide a page for selecting which components to install. It is safe to accept the defaults, but you can save space by deselecting the documentation and the source code. The JDK itself and the JRE are both required.

==Install the JAI ImageIO Tools==
Download the latest release of the Java Advanced Imaging ImageIO Tools for the JDK from http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/jai/downloads/download-iio-1_0_01.html. Select the <b>JDK Install</b> version. It will have a name like <b>jai_imageio-1_1-lib-windows-i586-jdk.exe</b>. Note that the ImageIO Tools are separate from the JAI, so be careful to obtain the ImageIO Tools. The JAI itself is <b>not</b> required.

If you obtained a MIRC Installation CD at the 2008 RSNA annual meeting, the JDK is in the <b>MIRC_Installation/JAI/Windows_Vista</b> folder.

Run the file and accept all the defaults.

==Define a System Variable for Java==
After installing the JDK and the  these files, you must define a system
variable which points to the JDK. This will allow Tomcat to find
Java when it starts. If you install the JDK is the standard
place, it will be in a director with a path like: <b>C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_01</b>, where the numbers after <b>jdk</b> depend on the release which you installed.

* Click the <b>Start</b> button.
* Right-click the <b>Computer</b> button in the Start menu.
* Select <b>Properties</b> in the pop-up menu. 
* In the Tasks pane, click <b>Advanced System Settings</b>.
* In the System Properties dialog, click the <b>Advanced</b> tab.
* Click the <b>Environment Variables</b> button. 
* In the lower part of the next window, click <b>New...</b>. 
* In the <b>Variable name</b> field, enter: <b>JAVA_HOME</b>
* In the <b>Variable value</b> field, enter the path to the JDK.
* Finally, click OK on all the dialogs.

==Install Tomcat==
Obtain the latest Tomcat 5.5 Core zip file from http://tomcat.apache.org/download-55.cgi. Be careful to obtain 5.5 rather than 5.0, which is also available on the same page. It will have a name like <b>apache-tomcat-5.5.23.zip</b>.

Expand the zip file. A convenient place to put it is in the root of the C drive.

==Configure the Memory Settings==
This step is optional, though recommended.

After installation, there will be a folder with a name like <b>apache-tomcat-5.5.23</b> containing numerous subfolders, including one called <b>bin</b>.

If you plan to support large images, open the <b>bin</b> directory and then open the <b>catalina.bat</b> file with a text editor like NotePad or TextPad. The top part of the file is a set of comments. About 55 lines from the top, the comments section ends. The last few lines of the comments section and the first few lines that follow it look like this:

<pre>
#
# $Id: catalina.sh 498126 2007-01-20 15:38:39Z markt $
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

rem Guess CATALINA_HOME is not defined
set CURRENT_DIR=%cd%
</pre>

Paste the line below into the file just after the comments section and then save the file.
		
:<b>set CATALINA_OPTS=-Xms256m -Xmx512m</b>

The result should look like this:

<pre>
#
# $Id: catalina.sh 498126 2007-01-20 15:38:39Z markt $
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

set CATALINA_OPTS=-Xms256m -Xmx512m

rem Guess CATALINA_HOME is not defined
set CURRENT_DIR=%cd%
</pre>

==Define a System Variable for Tomcat==
To make it easier to start and stop Tomcat, it will be convenient to define a system variable pointing to the top-level Tomcat directory. Use the procedure described above to define a system variable named <b>CATALINA_HOME</b>. If the top-level Tomcat folder is located at C:\apache-tomcat-5.5.23, then set the value of the variable to <b>C:\apache-tomcat-5.5.23</b>.

==Starting and Stopping Tomcat==
To start Tomcat, open a command window, and enter: <b>%CATALINA_HOME%\bin\startup.bat</b>. Tomcat will start and open its own command window. You can close the original command window, but do not close Tomcat's window while Tomcat is running.

To stop Tomcat, open a command window, and enter: <b>%CATALINA_HOME%\bin\shutdown.bat</b>.

You may find it convenient to create a shortcut which starts a command window in the %CATALINA_HOME%\bin directory. This would allow you to start and stop Tomcat just by typing <b>startup</b> and <b>shutdown</b>.

==Install MIRC==
To install and configure MIRC, follow the instructions available on the Downloads page of the wiki.