---
title: "Fix Quartus Prime System Console: jvm.dll and awt.dll Errors"
description: "After installing **Quartus Prime** on Windows, the **System Console** may fail to launch with errors referencing `jvm.dll` or `awt.dll`. This happens because the Visual C++ runtime DLLs required by Quartus Prime's embedded JRE are not in the search path that…"
url: "https://rcayssials.hopto.org/gemrtosdocs/system-console-does-not-start-after-quartus-prime-instalation/"
updated: "2026-06-01"
category: General
---

# Fix Quartus Prime System Console: jvm.dll and awt.dll Errors

After installing **Quartus Prime** on Windows, the **System Console** may fail to launch with errors referencing `jvm.dll` or `awt.dll`. This happens because the Visual C++ runtime DLLs required by Quartus Prime's embedded JRE are not in the search path that System Console uses when loading its libraries. The fix is a one-time manual copy of two DLL files. This applies to all Quartus Prime editions used for Nios V FPGA development with Intel platforms.

## Error Symptoms

System Console fails to open after Quartus Prime installation, showing one or both of the following errors:

- `Cannot load library jvm.dll`
- `awt.dll: Can't find dependent libraries`

## Root Cause

Quartus Prime ships with an embedded 64-bit JRE located in `$QUARTUS_ROOTDIR/bin64/jre64/bin/`. The Visual C++ runtime libraries (`msvcp<xxx>.dll` and `msvcr<xxx>.dll`) that `jvm.dll` and `awt.dll` depend on are present in that JRE folder, but are not copied to the `$QUARTUS_ROOTDIR/bin64/` directory where System Console searches for its dependencies. Windows cannot resolve the dependency chain, causing the load failure.

## How to Fix It

Copy the two MSVC runtime DLL files from the JRE bin folder to the Quartus bin64 folder:

1. Locate the two files in: `$QUARTUS_ROOTDIR/bin64/jre64/bin/`
   The files are named `msvcp<xxx>.dll` and `msvcr<xxx>.dll`, where `<xxx>` is the Visual C++ runtime version number (for example, `msvcp120.dll` and `msvcr120.dll`).
2. Copy both files to: `$QUARTUS_ROOTDIR/bin64/`
3. Restart Quartus Prime and launch System Console.

**Note:** `$QUARTUS_ROOTDIR` is the Quartus Prime installation root, typically `C:\intelFPGA\<version>\quartus\` or `C:\intelFPGA_pro\<version>\quartus\` depending on your edition.

## Verify the Fix

After copying the files, open Quartus Prime and launch **Tools → System Console**. The console window should open without errors. If the error persists, check that you copied the correct version of the DLLs — there may be multiple `msvcp*.dll` files in the JRE bin folder; copy all of them to `bin64/`.

## Key Takeaways

- The `jvm.dll` and `awt.dll` load errors after Quartus Prime installation are caused by missing MSVC runtime DLLs in `$QUARTUS_ROOTDIR/bin64/`.
- The fix requires copying `msvcp<xxx>.dll` and `msvcr<xxx>.dll` from `bin64/jre64/bin/` to `bin64/` — no reinstallation needed.
- This is a one-time fix that persists across Quartus Prime sessions; it does not affect other Quartus tools or your Nios V FPGA project files.