The first time I tried to install Data Loader on our Windows 11 PC this week, the installer crashed with a NullPointerException. Nothing was wrong with Java, the zip or Salesforce. I had fed the installer its answers from a file instead of typing them, and it did not like that one bit.
To install Salesforce Data Loader on Windows, you need Java 17 or later, the official zip from Setup or developer.salesforce.com, and a normal Command Prompt to run install.bat. I installed v67.0.0 on November 3, 2026. These seven rules are the walkthrough in order, each with what happened to us and a check you can run in a minute.
Install Java 17 or later first, and prove it
Salesforce no longer bundles Java with the Windows installer, and the Data Loader Guide says to install a Java Runtime Environment (JRE), version 17 or later, before Data Loader. Our PC already had Java, so step one took ten seconds. I opened Command Prompt and ran this:
java -versionThe output showed Java 21 from Eclipse Adoptium (Temurin), which clears the bar:
openjdk version "21.0.12.1" 2026-08-18 LTS
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Temurin-21.0.12.1+1 (Eclipse Adoptium)If you get “not recognized” instead, install a JRE first. The guide names Azul Zulu and Adoptium Eclipse Temurin as sources, says to pick the build for your op