Installing Eclipse in Program Files directory on Vista Installing Eclipse in Program Files directory on Vista By default, Microsoft Windows Vista does not allow user level accounts to write files in the "Program Files" directory. This can prevent Eclipse from starting when installed in the "Program Files" directory, because Eclipse stores configuration data by default in its install directory. Either of the following workarounds can be used to avoid this problem: Install Eclipse outside the "Program Files" directory Instruct Eclipse to store configuration data outside the "Program Files" directory using the -configuration command line argument. The problem will not occur when running Eclipse as the Administrator user, but this is not recommended because it compromises the Windows Vista security model. (https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=168445)