If I try to start a Oracle DB, what system log, if any will errors be written to?

[David Heard]

If I try to start a Oracle DB, what system log, if any will errors be written to?

[John Palmer · Accepted solution]

No system log. Any errors will be reported to the sqlplus/svrmgr session that's controlling the startup.

Other errors may be written to the Oracle alert log.

Regards,
John

[Tim Sanko]

John is right, but I further recommend you start the job with sqlplus and have sqlplus make its own log.

Tim

[Tim Sanko]

In further clarification the command name in sqlplus is spool.

Tim Sanko

[Rick Garland]

Know where the alert log files are for all of your instances.

Besides information to possible errors (the dreaded ORA errors) you can also find infomation as to the instance going down.
If you do hot backups you will also find these alert logs useful for doing refreshes since it will tell you which archive logs you will need.

[Michael Schulte zur Sur]

Hi,

go to $ORACLE_HOME/dbs
There you will find the spfile${ORACLE_HOME}.ora or the init${ORACLE_HOME}.ora
Look for background_dump_dest in there and you know, where the alert${ORACLE_HOME}.log file is.

greetings,

Michael

[Michael Schulte zur Sur]

Oops, typo

There you will find the spfile${ORACLE_SID}.ora or the init${ORACLE_SID}.ora
Look for background_dump_dest in there and you know, where the alert${ORACLE_SID}.log file is.

[Indira Aramandla]

Hi,

When you try to start Oracle database as svrmgrl / sqlplus and if there is an error in bringing up the databsd the errors will be displayed on the session screen it self.

For detailed error messages you will have to check in the alert log located in (BDUMP) directory and user dump log located in UDUMP directory.