JAVA

[1firecapt]

Greetings from a new student.
I'm trying to learn JAVA Programming and I can't even get the compiler to run.
I'm running XP OS from DELL. I've tried to set the PATH in the user variables and I've tried to run it from command prompt.
The problem I'm having with command prompt is that I can't access any files but Documents and Settings. So, I moved the
Java files to Documents and Settings. No luck. I get the error message lost the thread "main".
I've searched and re-typed and so on and was looking for SUN help when I found this site. It appears this may be primarily a hardware forum but me thinks there may be more genius available here.
According to all I've read, I should be able to overwrite the existing command prompt and proceed. I don't understand why Documents and Settings is nailed in place. I've deleted the file from environmental variables and yet there she sits.
Any help will surely be rewarded in the next life. Thanks

postscript; 9:30 am PST: It worked again. I expose my ignorance and impatience and the lights come on and there's the solution right in front of me. Type the correct path. Thanks again and thank you, Scott, for the warm welcome. I intend to keep track of this site. I would love to have the capacity to contribute but I'll have to settle for my current position as pest and observer. See Ya