Help with Snow Leopard and Java

Hello! I am new to the forums, this is my first post. Recently, I have taken up an interest in programming. I downloaded NetBeans and then moved to download Java for Mac OS X, but when installing, it informed me I can only install to Snow Leopard and not Macintosh HD. I tried to upgrade to Snow Leopard using a disk, but the installation still failed. I went to About this Mac and found that the Mac was still operating on Macintosh HD. Why did the upgrade to Snow Leopard not work? I tried and failed again, even though I followed some installation tips, for example, unplugging unnecessary external connection (flashdrives, ipod chargers, etc.). Also, Snow Leopard is version 10.6, correct? On the About this Mac, it says that my Mac is 10.6.6. Shouldn't it be Snow Leopard already? Anyways, if my Snow Leopard woes are unsolvable, can anyone tell me of a Java download that doesn't require Snow Leopard. Thanks beforehand to any suggestions.

10.6.6 is Snow Leopard - Macintosh HD is just the label for the HD and has nothing to do with your version of OS X.

Did you make sure to get the right version of Java? Actually, now that I come to think of it, I believe Java was still included with Snow Leopard so there shouldn't be a need to install it. Have you tried building a simple app in Netbeans to see if everything is recognized?