The figure illustrates the procedure to downgrade to Oracle7 when data must be preserved.

1. Run catexp7.sql on the Oracle9i database.
2. Use the Oracle7 Export utility to export the parts of the Oracle9i database containing the new or changed data.
3. Restore the complete backup of the previous Oracle7 database, including initialization parameters.
4. Open the restored Oracle7 database.
5. Use the Oracle7 Import utility to import the previously exported Oracle9i data.