Applet - 'java.lang.NullPointerException: null pData' when browser closed

Question

I have one user who gets an error message when he closes his browser. This only happens when he has visited a page which contains my applet. It seems to have been registered as a bug at Sun but that was many years ago. He is using Java 1.6 and IE7.

Has anyone seen this before and know a solution or work-around?

java.lang.NullPointerException: null pData
    at sun.awt.windows.WComponentPeer.hide(Native Method)
    at java.awt.Component.removeNotify(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.Container.removeNotify(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.Container.removeNotify(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.Container.removeAll(Unknown Source)
    at sun.plugin.viewer.frame.IExplorerEmbeddedFrame.windowClosed(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.Window.processWindowEvent(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.Window.processEvent(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.Component.dispatchEventImpl(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.Container.dispatchEventImpl(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.Window.dispatchEventImpl(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.Component.dispatchEvent(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForFilters(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForFilter(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source)
    at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(Unknown Source)

UPDATE The user removed Google Desktop and the problem has not occured since. So there you go... Thanks everyone!

Answer 1

I used to get that error a lot for just about every applet that was loaded in the browser. I never figured out how, but Google Desktop was breaking java in some way. After uninstalling google desktop the error went away.

Answer 2

I don't know a solution but I know a prevention of this problem. If javascript is enabled in your web browser then place this code in a script tag inside your head tag of the html file from which applet is opened:

<SCRIPT language = "JavaScript">
    window.onunload = function() { document.body.innerHTML = ""; } 
</script>

Answer 3

Have you had them try 1.6u10? It was released last week, and supposedly fixes a number of applet issues. Otherwise, what build of 1.6 are they using?