Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Common reasons for OUI failures on the MS Windows platforms

Here are the most common reasons why the OUI will fail to run, on any Microsoft Windows Operating System:

1. Operating System Permissions: Oracle recommends running the OUI as an Administrator. However, sometimes using an account that belongs to the Administrator group is not enough. Thus, whenever there is a problem running the OUI, we will recommend using the Local Administrator account. There is a difference between the Local Administrator account and a user account that has Administrator privledges. To determine if the failure is related to OS Permissions, we always recommend you login as the Local Administrator of the machine. Then run the OUI. If the OUI runs correctly, then the problem is with your OS account.

2. Remote Connection Utilities: Trying to run the OUI over a remote connection (such as Terminal Services, Remote Desktop, etc..) can cause the OUI to not run. While it may work for some customers, if there is a problem when using any of these remote connection utilities, we will ask that you login to the server console directly, and try the install. If the install works on the server console, and not over your remote connection, then the problem is with the remote connection utility. A lot of times, the problem is due to the way the remote connection utility is setup / configured.

3. Software conflicts: There is a possibility of the OUI failing, due to conflicts with other software. Some things to check: Make sure there is not a newer version of Java installed. For example, the 10g OUI uses the JDK 1.4.2 (installed when Oracle is installed). If there is a newer version of the JDk installed on the system (for example, the 1.5 version), it can cause a problem with the OUI. Check your PATH. If you find a newer (or older) version of the JDK installed, remove it from the PATH (you do not have to remove the software, just from the PATH). NOTE: It is ok to have other JDKs installed from other Oracle Products. These normally do not cause a problem.

4. Services Running: There have been a few cases where having some services running (even if they are not being used) can cause a problem. For example, the Terminal Services service was running (the customer was not connected over a Terminal Services Session), and it caused a problem. Once the Service was stopped, the OUI ran fine. You can look at what services are running, and try stopping any service that is not needed by Windows.

5. Spaces in the directory names: Make sure you do not have any spaces in the directory name, where you are installing the software from. This includes new installs and patches. If a space exists in the directory name, you will need to remove it.Another place to check for spaces is in the TEMP and TMP variables. These are used for the initial installation, for a temporay location for the OUI. However, if a space exists in the TEMP and TMP variables, the OUI will fail. By Default, Windows sets the TEMP and TMP locations for a user, to: C:\Documents and Settings\%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp.Notice the spaces in the directory names.This should be changed to something like: C:\TEMP (NOTE: Make sure the directory exists).

Some other Metalink Notes that might be helpful are mentioned in the reference section below.

1 comment:

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