Re: ORA-12571: TNS packet writer failure on install (Oracle 9i r2 and XP Pro)

craigfil_at_hotmail.com said...
> Hi,
>
> Apologies for what may be a common question, I have searched deja and
> google but not found anything (I can understand) that is directly
> applicable to the above problem.
>
> I currently use SQL Server but wish to install Oracle 9i to
> familiarise myself with the product and to evaluate it for future
> projects.
>
> The problem is, when I install the Oracle 9i release 2 Personal
> Edition on my XP Pro desktop, it tries to install the Cofiguration
> Assistant but fails with the following error:
>
> ORA-12571: TNS packet writer failure
>
> Likewise running the config assistant to create a database results in
> the same error. I am a _total_ novice when it comes to Oracle and
> most of the information I have been able to find about the above error
> relates to Oracle 8 and goes right over my head.
>
> HELP please :)
>
> Thanks,
> Craig
>

An error with TNS means something is amiss in your OracleNet setup.

There are three main files that you have to get correct - listener.ora, tnsnames.ora, and sqlnet.ora. The first is for the server side (where the database lives); the second two are for the client side. You can have both client and server on one PC (which is probably your case). I once had an installation of 9i where the distributed sqlnet.ora was bad (someone forgot to prefix all the comment lines with a poundsign, and Oracle tried to interpret the comments as real commands). You seldom need very many lines in sqlnet.ora if all you want to do is "play."

Check these 3 files and see if they "look" okay (they're in % oracle_home%\network\admin). Maybe you can post them if you don't know what okay looks like.

Hopefully, you didn't have any other Oracle products on your PC before you installed 9iR2 PE (or you'll possibly have to deal with multiple Oracle homes; confusing, at first).

-- 
/Karsten