E Troubleshooting

This appendix describes solutions to common problems that you might encounter when installing Oracle Application Server. It contains the following sections:

• Section E.1, "Log Files"

• Section E.2, "General Troubleshooting Tips"

• Section E.3, "Installation Problems and Solutions"

• Section E.4, "Need More Help?"

E.1 Log Files

The installer writes the following log files:

• oraInventory_location/logs/installActionstimestamp.log

• oraInventory_location/logs/oraInstalltimestamp.err

• oraInventory_location/logs/oraInstalltimestamp.out

E.2 General Troubleshooting Tips

If you encounter an error during installation:

• Read the Oracle Application Server Release Notes for the latest updates. The release notes are available with the platform-specific documentation. The most current version of the release notes is available on Oracle Technology Network (http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation).

• Verify that your computer meets the requirements specified in Chapter 2, "Requirements".

• If you entered incorrect information on one of the installation screens, return to that screen by clicking Back until you see the screen.

• If a configuration assistant failed, check the log file for that configuration assistant. Section D.2, "Description of Oracle Application Server Configuration Assistants" lists the configuration assistants and the location of their log files. If you do not see log files from some configuration assistants in the ORACLE_HOME/cfgtoollogs directory, exit the installer. This causes the installer to copy the log files to that directory.

• If an error occurred while the installer is copying or linking files:

  1. Note the error and review the installation log files.

  2. Remove the failed installation by following the steps in Appendix C, "Deinstallation and Reinstallation".

  3. Correct the issue that caused the error.

  4. Restart the installation.

E.3 Installation Problems and Solutions

This section describes common installation problems and solutions:

• Section E.3.1, "Location of Log Files"

• Section E.3.2, "Linking Failed, ORA Errors"

• Section E.3.3, "Prerequisite Checks Fail at the Start of Installation"

• Section E.3.4, "Installer Disappears After Running the Preinstallation Checks"

• Section E.3.5, "Unable to Clean Up a Failed Installation"

• Section E.3.6, "User Interface Does Not Display in the Desired Language, or Does Not Display Properly"

• Section E.3.7, "Configuration Assistant Failures - General"

E.3.1 Location of Log Files

There are two sets of log files:

• The installer writes the following log files:

  • oraInventory_location/logs/installActionstimestamp.log

  • oraInventory_location/logs/oraInstalltimestamp.err

  • oraInventory_location/logs/oraInstalltimestamp.out

  • Oracle_Home/install/make.log

• The configuration assistants write log files in the ORACLE_HOME/cfgtoollogs directory.

  Note that if you want to access the log files created by the configuration assistants, you need to exit the installer first. The log files are inaccessible if the installer is still in use.

E.3.2 Linking Failed, ORA Errors

Problem

Linking failed, and ORA errors were displayed during installation

Solution

Exit the installer and check the log files for any error message. In particular, check the ORACLE_HOME/install/make.log file.

Remove the failed installation. Before reinstalling Oracle Application Server, make sure that your computer meets all the requirements listed in Chapter 2, "Requirements".

Check especially the following requirements:

• Check that the kernel parameters are set to the proper values. Note that if you change the value of a kernel parameter, you must exit the installer and restart your computer for the new value to take effect.

• Check that you are installing Oracle Application Server in a valid directory. For example, you cannot install Oracle Application Server in a database Oracle home. See Section 2.12 for a complete list.

E.3.3 Prerequisite Checks Fail at the Start of Installation

Problem

The prerequisite checks that are run at the start of installation failed

Solution

If the prerequisite checks display warnings about missing operating system patches or patch bundles, the patch may actually be missing, or it may have been superseded. If your computer contains the patch that supersedes it, you can ignore the warning.

See Section 2.3, "Software Requirements" for a list of required operating system patches.

E.3.4 Installer Disappears After Running the Preinstallation Checks

Problem

The installer disappears after running preinstallation checks

Solution

The directory that is the mount point of the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM was mounted with incorrect permissions, and this caused the pwd command to not work correctly. When you run pwd, it returns "cannot determine current directory".

To fix:

1. Unmount the CD-ROM.

2. Change permissions of the mount directory to 755.

3. Remount the CD-ROM.

The installer should now run correctly.

E.3.5 Unable to Clean Up a Failed Installation

If your installation was not successful, you have to deinstall it first before you can install Oracle Application Server again. Refer to Appendix C, "Deinstallation and Reinstallation" for instructions.

E.3.6 User Interface Does Not Display in the Desired Language, or Does Not Display Properly

Problem

Messages do not appear in the desired language, or messages are not displayed correctly

Solution

Currently Oracle Application Server does not support adding or removing languages after installation.

If you are serving non-English content, be sure you add all the languages that you need during installation. To add languages during installation, click the Product Languages button in the "Select Installation Type" screen. To see which languages are installed by default, see Section 3.3, "Installing Additional Languages".

If you are serving non-English content and forgot to click the Product Languages in the installation, the user interface might not display properly because the required fonts were not installed. You can fix this by contacting Customer Service for the requirement fonts.

E.3.7 Configuration Assistant Failures - General

This section describes general tips for troubleshooting configuration assistant failures. See the next sections for specific configuration assistant failures. See also Appendix D, "Configuration Assistants".

Problem

Configuration assistant failed

Solution

Configuration assistants fail from a variety of causes. Some things you can check are:

• Check the log files for the failed configuration assistant to determine the problem. The log files are located in the ORACLE_HOME/cfgtoollogs directory.

  Fix the problem indicated in the log file, and click Retry to rerun the failed configuration assistant.

If the configuration assistant fails while running configuration assistant execution commands on the command line, then run the configuration assistant execution command again.

You can use the generated script file named configtoolcmds.pl located in the ORACLE_HOME/bin directory to run the failed configuration assistant again. The configtoolcmds.pl script is generated after you exit the installer. During silent or non-interactive installation, the configtoolcmds.pl script is generated immediately after configuration assistant failure.

E.4 Need More Help?

If this appendix does not solve the problem you encountered, try these other sources:

• Oracle Application Server Release Notes, available on the Oracle Technology Network (http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation)

• OracleMetaLink (http://metalink.oracle.com)

If you do not find a solution for your problem, open a service request.