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Installing PrismLauncher on Windows and more!

Preface

What is PrismLauncher? - PrismLauncher is a fork of the popular Minecraft launcher, MultiMC.

Installing Java 8 & 18

We will be getting Java from adoptium.net. Navigate to https://adoptium.net/temurin/releases.

Downloading the Java installers

For both Java 8 and Java 18, select the following:

For Java 8, also select the following:

For Java 18, also select the following:

Installing Java using the downloaded installers

For Java 8, run the installer with 8 in its name, and for Java 18, run the installer with 18 in its name.

The process is the same for both: once the installer opens, click Next, then Next, then Install. You might get an User Account Control prompt, click Yes. At the end, click Finish.

Finish up

Java 8 and 18 have been installed on your system. You may now delete the installers.

Installing PrismLauncher

We will be getting Java from prismlauncher.org. Navigate to https://prismlauncher.org/download/.

Before downloading PrismLauncher

You must know what version of Windows you have so you can download the right installer. You might already know this information. If you don’t, use the Windows Key + R key combo to spawn a Run box. Enter winver in the Run box and click OK. Your Windows version should be at the very top.

More specifically, you need to know if you have a Windows version above Windows 10 (e.g. Windows 10, Windows 11) or a Windows version below Windows 8.1 (e.g. Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista etc.).

Downloading PrismLauncher

Navigate to https://prismlauncher.org/download/, if you haven’t already. With the information gathered at the previous section, choose

  1. Long, pinkish-red button which says Installer (.exe) for Windows versions above Windows 10
  2. A bit lower on the page, under Legacy version, Clickable text. The text is Legacy installer (.exe) for Windows versions below Windows 8.1

Installing PrismLauncher using the downloaded installer

The process is the same for either installer. Once the installer opens, click Next, then Next, then Install. At the end, click Finish.

Configuring PrismLauncher on first open

For the following sections you must know the following:

  1. Each section starts with Screen, then some words after the colon (:). The same words should show up at the top left of the screen PrismLauncher presents to you.
  2. You may see things like 18.x.x, the .x.x part could mean 18.0.2 or 18.12.56, for example. The xs are used because the guide cannot know for sure what version you have installed.

Screen: Language

Note that each language has an associated Completeness. That refers to the completeness level of the translation into that language.

Choose your preferred language, then click Next >.

Screen: Java

Select 18.x.x under Version, and make sure it’s the one whose Path starts with C:\.

Memory

You might already know how much memory your system has. If you don’t, (the following applies to Windows 8 or later only (Windows 8, 8.1, 10, 11)) use the Windows Key + R key combo to spawn a Run box. Enter taskmgr in the Run box and click OK. Go to the Performance tab, then to Memory. On the right, you should see Memory written in big letters, and to the right of that you should find the amount of memory your system has installed.

Under Memory, set Maximum memory allocation: to half, or a quarter (if you want to play it safe) of the total amount of memory (RAM) that you have in your system, then click Finish.

Notes

You may be asking why we installed two versions of Java. Well, it’s because modern Minecraft, depending on the version, needs either Java 16, 17 or 18. Some old versions may run with these new Java versions, but it’s not guaranteed.

So, we use Java 8 for those old versions. Java 8 is also needed for playing with the Forge modloader on most older versions.

Finish up

PrismLauncher has been installed and configured on your system. You may now delete its installer.

Finishing words

You have now installed PrismLauncher! For a basic guide on using it, check out PrismLauncher Usage Guide.

Manual information

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Licensed under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license


Revision Two