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On Windows you need a Java SE Development Kit (JDK). The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is not enough because the Tomcat application server does not recognize it.

What is the difference?

• JRE is for users who run Java programs on their computer.
• JDK is for developers who write Java-based applications.

Download and install JDK. By default JDK is installed in C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_xx\. You can choose another location.

Check JAVA_HOME environment variable

1. Open the command prompt.
2. Type set and press ENTER.
3. Find JAVA_HOME in the command output and verify that the path points to your JRE JDK installation directory, for example C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_xx.
4. If JAVA_HOME is missing or it points to the wrong directory, see Set JAVA_HOME environment variable below.
   

Set JAVA_HOME environment variable

1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties.
2. Go to the Advanced tab. 
   (In Windows 7+, right-click Computer and select Advanced System Settings, then Environment variables.)
3. If the JAVA_HOME environment variable does not exist in User variables or System variables, create it:
   
   • User variables apply to the currently signed-in user only. Create JAVA_HOME here if you want it to apply only to the currently logged in user. These variables take precedence over system variables.
   • System variables apply to all users. Create JAVA_HOME here if you want it to apply to all users. You must be an administrator to modify a system environment variable. 
     
4. Set the value of JAVA_HOME to the path of your JDK installation directory, for example C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_xx.
5. Optional step: Add the Magnolia bin directory to the PATH variable, for example C:\Program Files\magnolia\apache-tomcat-x.y\bin. Setting the PATH allows you to issue the Magnolia start and stop commands from anywhere without navigating to the installation directory first. Separate the path from existing paths with a semicolon ( ; ). If you do this, you also need to add CATALINA_HOME to environment variables. Set the value of CATALINA_HOME to the Tomcat installation directory, for example C:\Program Files\magnolia\apache-tomcat-x.y
6. Click OK.
7. Go back to Check JAVA_HOME environment variable above and test that the variable is found and has the correct value. You need to open a new command prompt since environment variables are session specific.

Alternatively you can set JAVA_HOME with a batch file. Add this line to /apache-tomcat/bin/magnolia_control.bat:

set JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_xx

The set command creates the JAVA_HOME environment variable and sets its value to the JDK directory. The command is executed when Magnolia starts.