Oracle SQL Developer allows you to connect and manage databases. It is probably the easiest way to run any query as it gives the result in a tabular format. However, we have also noticed that, in some cases, Oracle SQL Developer starts crashing on startup on Windows devices. In this post, we will talk about some solutions that can help you with this issue.
Fix Oracle SQL Developer crashing on startup on Windows
If Oracle SQL Developer is crashing on startup on your Windows computer, follow the solutions mentioned below.
- Download Oracle Java JDK
- Update Java
- Disable Firewall or add an exception for SQL Developer
- Reinstall SQL Developer
Let us talk about them in detail.
1] Download Oracle Java JDK
One of the reasons why Oracle Developer is crashing on your computer is because Oracle JDK is not installed on your computer. Therefore, we need to install Oracle JDK and set it up, to do so, first, download JDK from oracle.com. Then, navigate to the SQL Developer folder in your AppData (Open File Explorer, type “%AppData%”, and hit Enter) directory and locate the “product” file. Open this file and update the path to point to the newly downloaded JDK. Next, delete the other SQL Developer folder in AppData that contains the “tmp” and “systemXX.XX…” directories. Finally, launch SQL Developer to complete the setup.
2] Update Java
If Java is already installed on your computer, you will have to make sure that it is updated to the latest version. If it is not updated, SQL Developer and JDK will be incompatible. So, go ahead and update Java on your systems, and then open SQL Dev and see if it opens.
3] Disable Firewall or add an exception for SQL Developer
You may also encounter an issue where your firewall thinks that SQL Developer is a malicious program and tries to block it, hence, the program fails to run on your computer. In order to resolve this issue, we recommend you disable the firewall temporarily and then try opening SQL Developer. If the program opens, you need to add an exception in your firewall to allow SQL Developer to run. In case, the program doesn’t open after disabling the firewall, make sure to enable it back, additionally, move on to the next solution.
4] Reinstall SQL Developer
If nothing works for you, our last resort is to uninstall the SQL Developer program from Windows Settings and install the latest version of the same from their official website. Make sure to delete the residual files of the application after uninstalling it, in order to stay away from any file corruption that may have happened.
Hopefully, you can resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this post.
Read: How to install and configure SQL Server Management Studio
How do I start Oracle SQL Developer in Windows?
Once you have installed Oracle SQL Developer, you only need to double-click on the application to open it. If it is the first time, you will be asked to set the Java JDK path, which you can do, and once done, you will be able to use the Oracle SQL Developer.
Read: How to install Oracle Database on Windows 11
How do I keep Oracle SQL Developer connection alive?
To keep your Oracle SQL Developer connection alive, you can use a keepalive extension that periodically sends a simple query to the database, preventing the connection from timing out. First, download the keepalive extension, then open SQL Developer and go to Help > Check for Updates to install the downloaded ZIP file. After restarting SQL Developer, activate the keepalive by clicking the keepalive icon, which is usually the first icon on the right. This should help maintain your connection and avoid frequent disconnections.
Also Read: Install SQL Developer in Windows 11.
