Installing Oracle Database Free

4 Installing Oracle Database Free

This section covers the following topics:

Authenticated Users Group Restriction for Oracle Database Free Installations on Windows

On Microsoft Windows, ensure that the directory where you install Oracle Database Free 23ai, and any of its parent directories other than the root directory (eg C:\), cannot be modified by the Authenticated Users group.

If you do not meet this requirement, then the installation rolls back and fails with an error in the beginning of the log found in the installation directory you provided, in the InstallActions<timestamp>.out file.

For example, you might see the following error in the


                C:\app\username\product\23ai\dbhomeFree\cfgtoollogs\oui\InstallActions2024-07-02_07-42-31PM.out

log file:

SEVERE: [FATAL] [INS-32113] The location specified for Oracle Base is under a directory that is modifiable by Authenticated users. 
ACTION: Specify a path that does not exist or is not under a directory that is modifiable by Authenticated users.

Note:

This restriction applies to the Authenticated Users group which cannot have the modify (Write/Rename/Delete) access on these directories. Administrators who are members of that group may still be able to install.
Non-server Windows operating systems, for example Windows 11, have modify access granted by default to the Authenticated Users group for directories created under C:\

Perform the following steps to meet this requirement before you start the Oracle Database Free installation:

These steps will impact the permissions of existing subfolders, files, and applications. Hence, Oracle recommends that you create a new, top-level empty folder to install Oracle Database Free. For example:
C:\> mkdir c:\dbfree
Disable the inheritance of the newly created folder:
C:\> icacls c:\dbfree /inheritancelevel:d
Remove the Authenticated Users permissions from the folder:
C:\> icacls c:\dbfree /remove:g *s-1-5-11
Start the Oracle Database Free installation. When you reach the Destination Folder screen, the installer prompts you to enter the installation directory, click Change to select the installation directory that you newly created. For example, select c:\dbfree.

You can also install Oracle Database Free in new subfolders by providing additional subdirectories under c:\dbfree. For example, c:\dbfree\product\23ai.

Checking the Permissions of Your Directory

To check the permissions of a directory where you want to install Oracle Database Free, perform one of the following steps:

Run the icacls utility to check the permissions of the directory. For example: C:\> icacls c:\dbfree
In File Explorer, right-click the directory where you want to install Oracle Database Free and select the Security tab. If you see that the Authenticated Users group can modify the said directory or any of its parent directories other than the root directory (eg C:\), then you will not be able to install Oracle Database Free into that directory.

Running the Installer

Most users will install Oracle Database Free by downloading the installation package, extracting the files, double-clicking setup.exe, and answering graphical user interface prompts as needed.

Note:

Before attempting to install Oracle Database Free 23ai, uninstall any existing Oracle Database XE or Oracle Database Free or database with the SID XE or FREE from the target system.
The installer will use SID FREE for database creation. Any SID other than SID FREE will not be allowed.

To install Oracle Database Free:

Log on to Windows with Administrator privileges.

You must be a direct member of the Administrators group on Windows to install Oracle Database Free. If you are logged in as a domain user, ensure that you are connected to the network. Otherwise, you may receive a prerequisite check failure for Administrator privileges during the install.
If the ORACLE_HOME or TNS_ADMIN environment variables have been set, then delete them.
Download the Microsoft Windows version of Oracle Database Free.
Extract the downloaded zip file to a temporary location. Locate setup.exe and double click it. The installation of the prerequisites will take place, if applicable, to the environment.
In the Welcome to the InstallShield Wizard for Oracle Database 23ai Free window, click Next.
In the License Agreement window, read the text of the agreement and if you agree to its terms, select I accept the terms in the license agreement and then click Next. If you do not accept the terms, cancel the installation and delete the Oracle Database 23ai Free software from the computer.

The installer now performs a prerequisite check to ensure that:

the version and edition of Windows is supported
the environment variables ORACLE_HOME and TNS_ADMIN are not set
the installation user is a direct member of the Administrators group
there is no Oracle Database Free service already created

If any of these checks fail, a Prerequisite Checks window will open notifying the user. In that case, cancel the installation, fix the problem, and retry the installation.

Prerequisite Check Details

Windows Version See, System Requirements.

Windows Edition Windows Home Edition is not supported.

Install Environment Variables ORACLE_HOME and TNS_ADMIN environment variables must not be set. These environment variables must be temporarily unset at the system level (unsetting them in a command prompt is not sufficient).

Pre-existing Oracle Database Free Service There must not be an existing Oracle Database Free Service on this machine.

User Administrative Privileges The current user must be a direct member of the Administrators group. Indirect membership of the Administrators group (e.g. when a user is a member of a group and that group is a member of Administrators), or running the installer "as administrator" is not sufficent. If you are logged in as a domain user, make sure you are on a network that can reach the domain server. For example, if you must use a VPN to reach your domain server, make sure to enable your VPN before beginning the installation. If you cannot connect to a network that can reach the domain server, you can instead create a local user and add that user to the local Administrators group. Then you can log in and install as that local user.

In the Destination Folder window, either accept the default location or click Change to select a different installation directory. Do not select a directory that has spaces in its name. Then click Next.

Caution:
On Microsoft Windows, ensure that the directory where you install Oracle Database Free 23ai, and any of its parent directories, cannot be modified by the Authenticated Users group. See, Authenticated Users Group Restriction for Oracle Database Free Installations for more details.
In the Oracle Database Information window, enter and confirm the single database password to use for the SYS, SYSTEM, and PDBADMIN database accounts. Then click Next.

Note:

The same password will be used for these accounts. The password should conform to the Oracle recommended standards. See Oracle Database Security Guide for more information about guidelines for securing passwords.
In the Summary window, review the installation settings, and if you are satisfied, click Install. Otherwise, click Back and modify the settings as necessary.
When the installation is complete, the Oracle Database Installed Successfully window is displayed.

Make a note of the connection strings provided for multitentant container database and the pluggable database. Click Finish to close the installer.

Configuration, Database Files, and Logs Location

The following table lists important locations such as Oracle Base, Oracle Home, Database files, and logs. <INSTALL_DIR> is the installation directory chosen by you during the time of install. The default installation directory is C:\app\<username>\product\23ai, where <username> is the name of the Windows user performing the installation.

Table 4-1 Configuration, Database Files and Logs Location

File Name and Location	Purpose
`<INSTALL_DIR>`	Oracle Base This is the root of the Oracle Database Free directory tree.
`<INSTALL_DIR>\dbhomeFree`	Oracle Home This home is where the Oracle Database Free is installed. It contains the directories of the Oracle Database Free executables and network files.
`<INSTALL_DIR>\oradata\Free`	Database files
`<INSTALL_DIR>\diag\rdbms\free\free\trace`	Diagnostic logs The database alert log is `<INSTALL_DIR>\diag\rdbms\free\free\trace\alert_free.log`
`<INSTALL_DIR>\cfgtoollogs\`	Database installation, creation, and configuration logs. The `<INSTALL_DIR>\cfgtoollogs\dbca\Free\Free.log` file contains the results of the database creation script execution.
`%Program Files%\Oracle\Inventory\logs`	Software installation logs.

Performing a Silent Installation

If you plan to install Oracle Database Free on multiple computers or bundle it with a third-party application, then you may want to perform a silent installation, in which you download the installation file and run it at a command line using the provided response files.

If you have an existing version of Oracle Database Free, you can save your data by exporting it to data files. After you install the new version of Oracle Database Free, you can import this data into the new database.

To perform a silent installation of Oracle Database Free:

Log on to Windows with Administrator privileges.

You must be part of the Administrators group on Windows to install Oracle Database Free. If you are logged in as a domain user, ensure that you are connected to the network.
Download Oracle Database Free for Microsoft Windows. Extract the files to a temporary directory.
Open the FREEInstall.rsp response file and modify the settings if necessary.

Note:
For information on response file parameters, see Table 4-2.
If the ORACLE_HOME environment variable has been set, then delete it.
Run the installation file with the FREEInstall.rsp response file.

For example, if you extracted the setup.exe file and the FREEInstall.rsp file to a directory called free_temp, you would enter the following command:
```
c:\free_temp> setup.exe /s /v"RSP_FILE=c:\free_temp\response\FREEInstall.rsp" /v"/L*v c:\free_temp\setup.log" /v"/qn"
```
After the installation is complete, Oracle Database Free starts.

Response File Parameters

The following table describes the important response file parameters. The parameter value cannot be empty. You must specify a valid value for the parameters.

Table 4-2 Response File Parameters

Parameter	Purpose	Default Value
`INSTALLDIR`	The install directory location. Replace `[USERNAME]` with current user.	`INSTALLDIR=C:\app\<username>\product\23ai`
`PASSWORD`	The Oracle Database Free password. All users are set with this password. Reset the password immediately after the installation is complete.	`PASSWORD=passwordvalue`
`LISTENER_PORT`	The listener port.	`LISTENER_PORT=0` If listener port is set to `0`, available ports will be automatically allocated starting from `1521`.
`CHAR_SET`	The character set of the database.	`CHAR_SET=AL32UTF8`
`DB_DOMAIN`	Specify the database domain name for the database unique name specification.
`SOFTWARE_ONLY`	For software-only installations, specify `SOFTWARE_ONLY=TRUE`. This is required for True Cache configurations.	`SOFTWARE_ONLY=FALSE`

Note:

After the installation is successfully completed, the following message is available in the log file that you have specified as the parameter to setup.exe. For example, c:\free_temp\setup.log:

MSI (c) (28:B8) [Timestamp]: Windows Installer installed the product. Product Name: Oracle Database 23ai Free Release. Product Version: 23.0.0.0.0. Product Language: [Current Language ID]. Manufacturer: Oracle Corporation. Installation success or error status: 0.

Since silent install runs asynchronously, you can check the log file for the completion status.

If the installation fails, see the following installation log files:

general logs: located at %Program Files%\Oracle\Inventory\logs
database creation logs: located at Oracle_base\cfgtoollogs