diff --git a/launcher/src/main/java/com/threerings/getdown/launcher/Getdown.java b/launcher/src/main/java/com/threerings/getdown/launcher/Getdown.java
index 17368b1..65739eb 100644
--- a/launcher/src/main/java/com/threerings/getdown/launcher/Getdown.java
+++ b/launcher/src/main/java/com/threerings/getdown/launcher/Getdown.java
@@ -400,21 +400,6 @@ public abstract class Getdown extends Thread
 
             //setStep(Step.START);
             for (int ii = 0; ii < MAX_LOOPS; ii++) {
-                // if we aren't running in a JVM that meets our version requirements, either
-                // complain or attempt to download and install the appropriate version
-                if (!_app.haveValidJavaVersion()) {
-                    // download and install the necessary version of java, then loop back again and
-                    // reverify everything; if we can't download java; we'll throw an exception
-                    log.info("Attempting to update Java VM...");
-                    setStep(Step.UPDATE_JAVA);
-                    _enableTracking = true; // always track JVM downloads
-                    try {
-                        updateJava();
-                    } finally {
-                        _enableTracking = false;
-                    }
-                    continue;
-                }
 
                 // make sure we have the desired version and that the metadata files are valid...
                 setStep(Step.VERIFY_METADATA);
@@ -462,6 +447,22 @@ public abstract class Getdown extends Thread
                     // now we'll loop back and try it all again
                     continue;
                 }
+                
+                // if we aren't running in a JVM that meets our version requirements, either
+                // complain or attempt to download and install the appropriate version
+                if (!_app.haveValidJavaVersion()) {
+                    // download and install the necessary version of java, then loop back again and
+                    // reverify everything; if we can't download java; we'll throw an exception
+                    log.info("Attempting to update Java VM...");
+                    setStep(Step.UPDATE_JAVA);
+                    _enableTracking = true; // always track JVM downloads
+                    try {
+                        updateJava();
+                    } finally {
+                        _enableTracking = false;
+                    }
+                    continue;
+                }
 
                 // if we were downloaded in full from another service (say, Steam), we may
                 // not have unpacked all of our resources yet