Re: oracle service always at starting mode

From: Vladimir M. Zakharychev <vladimir.zakharychev_at_gmail.com>
Date: 20 Dec 2006 06:17:57 -0800
Message-ID: <1166624277.803807.297940@79g2000cws.googlegroups.com>

Charles Hooper wrote:
> EscVector wrote:
> > Charles Hooper wrote:
> > > > skyloon wrote:
> > > > > hi,
> > > > > I've created database in oracle 8i, after created database, the service
> > > > > was started, after i restart the pc, the status for this service is
> > > > > always Starting, it cant start and stop. Is there any setting need to
> > > > > be done?
> > > I believe that 8i, including 8.1.7, on Windows will perform a shutdown
> > > abort by default if the service is shut down, as would be the case when
> > > the system is restarted. Oracle could be trying to recover from the
> > > shutdown abort. This behavior is detailed in one of the Oracle 8i
> > > manuals that is specific to the Windows platform. The fix involves
> > > changing a registry key.
> > >
> > > Paraphrased from the Oracle 8i Administrator's Guide for Windows NT:
> > > To enable automatic shutdown of the Oracle service when the server is
> > > shut down, set the ORA_SHUTDOWN and ORA_SID_SHUTDOWN registry entries.
> > > Set the ORA_SID_SHUTDOWN to 1 to handle the shutdown in immediate mode.
> > >
> > > PSKILL, part of the PSTOOLS utilities (recently acquired by Microsoft)
> > > can terminate a service or other task that refuses to respond to nice
> > > shutdown methods, but I would advise against using it on an Oracle
> > > service.
> > >
> > > Charles Hooper
> > > PC Support Specialist
> > > K&M Machine-Fabricating, Inc.
> >
> > In order to even connect to an unmounted instance, the associated
> > OracleService must be started. It is a separate process and container
> > for the required oracle process/threads to run. It can be started and
> > the database can be down. If the service is really hung, the database
> > can't be open. It is required to be started prior to connecting.
> >
> > Make sure the paths for all the dump files and alert logs exist. This
> > can cause a "Hang".
> >
> > I'm only recommending using PSKILL if the service can't be stopped via
> > any other means, as seems to be the case here. There is no reason to
> > use it otherwise.
> >
> > If it is hung, it has to be shutdown aborted anyway. There is nothing
> > special about the Oracle Service relative to any other service. It is
> > simply a container. PSKILL is the best kill tool out there. I would
> > not advice using anything else.
> >
> > What would you recommend doing in this case where the controls are
> > "greyed" out?
> >
> > Also, since this database is newly created, what is the risk?

> Oddly, prior to posting my initial response to this thread, I did not
> notice that others had already suggested using PSKILL. As such, I was
> recommending the use of PSKILL, but only as a last resort against an
> Oracle database related service. This echos what you stated above.

> Have I used PSKILL on Oracle related services? Having once been
> repeatedly greeted with "ORA-06553: PLS-213 Package STANDARD Not
> Accessible" on an Oracle database at a SQLPlus logon (the second
> session to connect to the database after bouncing the database), I
> would say that there is a possibility that PSKILL was used when fixing
> the problem. The web based OEM Database control, at least in 10.2.0.2
> on the Windows platform, has a tendency to magically change the
> plsql_compiler_flags to NATIVE when changing other parameters. If one
> were to then attempt to compile a trigger, package, or other code,
> there is a good chance that the compile will fail. If one were to
> re-run some of the scripts that were run when the database were first
> built (to correct an odd problem with DataPump), there is a chance that
> you too could experience the "ORA-06553: PLS-213 Package STANDARD Not
> Accessible" error.

> Back on subject, Oracle may be attempting to perform a recovery after a
> shutdown abort. I believe that this will make the Oracle service
> unresponsive, as the OP indicated, until the recovery is complete. The
> Oracle instance likely automatically started when the computer
> rebooted. A change to the registry may correct this problem by
> avoiding the shutdown abort. The Alert log may provide additional
> details.

> Charles Hooper
> PC Support Specialist
> K&M Machine-Fabricating, Inc.

In fact, I have a couple of production db's I watch over that are 8.1.6.0 on Win2000 (don't ask me why they are still not upgraded to a supported release and not even patched to 8.1.6.3 ;) and both exhibit exactly this behavior: they start up and run normally, but services stay in "Starting" mode as if they don't report successful startup. As a consequence, I can't do anything with them from Service Manager GUI - all related buttons are disabled. I can start and stop the instances from svrmgrl though. I think it's some defect in Windows service implementation in that release. Since it doesn't affect operations I didn't bother finding out what's actually wrong.

Regards,

Vladimir M. Zakharychev
N-Networks, makers of Dynamic PSP(tm) http://www.dynamicpsp.com Received on Wed Dec 20 2006 - 08:17:57 CST