Welcome to the forum!
Are we talking about windows XP here??
I am under impression that windows XP doesnt come with java installed.
Go here and download the free java 'client'
http://www.java.com/en/index.jsp its in the upper right corner.
It will put a thingy in the system tray that will start up everytime windows does...so after you install it run "msconfig" , click "startup" and uncheck whatever box that mentions "java" or "java startup" etc.
JP