Matlab 2006b on Windows 8

I am trying to install Matlab 2006 on my Windows 8 pc. After installation it loads Matlab. When I close Matlab and reopen it I get a java error and Matlab won't load. The error I get is "Error starting Desktop".

I installed it in compatibility mode Windows Vista and the normal advice is to run Matlab in Windows 2000 compatibility. However, this was dropped for Windows 8.

Is there a workaround I can use? I need to run 2006b as that is the only license I can get (without paying the large sums myself). I have searched the forums and have not found an answer.

[Brendan]

I have managed to get Matlab to now run on Windows 8. These are the steps:

1. I downloaded Java SE Development Kit 6u31 from the oracle website and installed it.

2. I went to C:\Program Files (x86)\Java (directory could be different for other people) and copied the jre6 folder.

3. I went to C:\Program Files (x86)\MATLAB\R2006b\sys\java\jre\win32 (could be different for some). You should find 2 files here. A .gcf and a folder jre1.5 (or something). Delete the folder and replace it with what you copied from the Java directory.

4. Open the .gcf as a text file and edit it to the number at the end of the folder name i.e. 6 in my case for jre6.

This worked for me. If you get an error saving cannot find jvm file. Go back into the jre6 folder you placed in the matlab directory and check does it have the "client folder". If it does not you need to download a different version of java with the client folder as this contains the correct jvm file.

[Brendan]

I am also getting warnings when I open Matlab, can anybody advise on what these are:

Warning: Could not get change notification handle for local C:\WINDOWS\system32\@TileEmpty1x1Image.png. Performance degradation may occur due to on-disk directory change checking. Warning: Function C:\WINDOWS\system32\version.dll has the same name as a MATLAB builtin. We suggest you rename the function to avoid a potential name conflict. Warning: Function C:\WINDOWS\system32\input.dll has the same name as a MATLAB builtin. We suggest you rename the function to avoid a potential name conflict.