Re: Newbie question (Please help)

On Sun, 23 Feb 2003 17:12:32 +0000, Adnan Jamil wrote:

> Hello Gurus,
>
> I have installed Oracle 8.0.5 on Windows 2000 on my home PC just for doing
> PL/SQL practice. Oracle installed without any error but when I open SQL Plus
> 8.00 and enter username & password (System/Manager), I am getting following
> error message. Can anyone guide me, how can I connect with oracle database
> and stop this error. Thanks for your help. Error Is:-
>
> ORA-12203: TNS:unable to connect to destination.
>
> What TNS should I enter and from where I can get it.
>
> Thanks
>
> Adnan

No easy answers, I'm afraid.

First of all, and most important, wherever you got your copy of 8.0 from, take it back. 8.0 was never supported on Windows 2000, and will regularly throw the odd quirk here and there on that platform. Not to say it will never work, but why make life hard for yourself? Go to http://technet.oracle.com and you'll find currently supported versions of Oracle (all of which *do* run on Win2000) for free download.

Second, TNS errors should only appear when you do something like connect system/manager_at_someDB. And the use of the '@someDB' syntax is strictly unnecessary when you are connecting to the database from the same box that it's running on. If you are on the same machine that the database is supposed to be running on, then 'connect / as sysdba' should be all you require. A longer answer is 'set up Net8 correctly' (and you'll want to do that at some point) but I have a feeling you are new to all this, and that sort of answer is not going to get us very far.

Thirdly, start reading. Visit http://www.jlcomp.demon.co.uk and find the 'co-operative FAQ'. Have a good look at Oracle's own documentation at http://tahiti.oracle.com. Conceivably ask around and see if any of my own papers are still available on the net somewhere (they are, but I'm not allowed to tell you where. Sorry).

Fourthly. Don't give up. Even when confronted with a poster or posters who have forgotten what it's like to be new at this game. :-)

Regards
HJR Received on Mon Feb 24 2003 - 03:59:31 CST