How do I uninstall Java for Linux ?

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This article applies to:

• Platform(s): Oracle Enterprise Linux, Oracle Linux, Red Hat Linux, SLES, SUSE Linux
• Browser(s) Firefox
• Java version(s): 7.0, 8.0

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The uninstall process consists of:

1. Java Plug-in Uninstall
2. Java Uninstall
   • RPM Uninstall
   • Self extracting Uninstall

Java Plug-in Uninstall: Mozilla browser

If you are going to reinstall Java, you don't need to uninstall Java Plug-in. Just use the -f option for ln when creating a new symbolic link.
Example: ln -f /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libnpjp2.so

If you want to completely remove Java from your Linux box, the procedure of removing the symbolic link is described below.

1. Open Terminal Window
2. Log in as the super user
3. Type: rm /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libnpjp2.so
4. You will be prompted to remove symbolic link:
   rm: /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libnpjp2.so ?
5. Type: Y

Java Uninstall

There are two ways to uninstall Java. Please use the method that you used when you installed Java. For example, if you used RPM to install Java, then use the RPM uninstall method.

• RPM uninstall

  Note: If you have RPM on your Linux box, you should first find out if Java is already installed using RPM. If Java is not installed using RPM, you should skip reading.
  1. Open Terminal Window
  2. Login as the super user
  3. Try to find jre package by typing: rpm -qa
  4. If RPM reports a package similar to jre--fcs, then Java is installed with RPM.
     
     Note: Normally, you do not need to uninstall Java with RPM, because RPM is able to uninstall the old version of Java when installing a new version! You may skip reading, unless you want to remove Java permanently.
  5. To uninstall Java, type: rpm -e jre--fcs

• Self-extracting file uninstall

  1. Find out if Java is installed in some folder. Common locations are /usr/java/jre_ or /opt/jre_nb/jre_/bin/java/
  2. When you have located the folder, you may delete folder.
     Warning: You should be certain that Java is not already installed using RPM before removing the folder.
  3. Type: rm -r jre
     For example: rm -r jre1.7.0