I've managed to eliminate the error on a customer's machine, the java console still doesn't show up though:
Add the following java opts to the startup:
-Xdebug
-Djava.awt.headless=false
This tells the service to run in debug mode and not headless so it (theoretically) should be able to open a window.
Ensure the windows service is running under a real user (service account), and NOT the local system user, otherwise you'll get a nullpointer exception at sun.awt.shell.Win32ShellFolder2.access$200(Unknown Source)
You can do both actions using alfrescoTomcat1w.exe (found in alfresco/tomcat/bin, it's <service_name>w.exe)
Then when trying to activate the debugger, the button changes to 'Disable' and there is no error in the log files.
Unfortunately the console is still not showing. (Tried logging on to the server with the account that runs the windows service, still no luck) Something is still missing.
At least it's no longer throwing any errors anymore. Should this help anyone getting a step closer to figuring out a way to show the debugger console that would be great.
