Oracle database on XP (loopback and other concerns)

When first installing Oracle database on an XP system, it may, at first, appear as if you've got it good and will have far less problems than your linux counterparts. This is misleading. Although the XP install will undoubtedly be more simple, there are still some hiccups along the way for someone like me who is not happy with the default settings and locations.

The first set of issues I came across where location issues. I didn't want to use the default base and home directories and take up space on my C: drive when I had a spacious 1tb E: drive just ripe for the database-ing. Unclear as to the relation between the base and home directories I put them on the same directory level. Well I'll save you the grief, Oracle didn't like that. So rather than draw out what happened I'll just tell you the couple of unwritten rules I found on my own.
1. home should be a subdirectory of base
2. the names of both the home and base directory should not have any spaces or symbols in them

Neither of these issues will cause catastrophic failures but it's good practice to conform to the preferred settings of the software.

The next issue, on the other hand, will grind your install down to a halt. If you resolve your IP usind DHCP, and you probably do, you will get a big error from the Oracle installer that says something about a Microsoft loopback device. You basically have to give your machine a static IP but in a very specific way that Oracle is going to expect to see to work correctly. Here are some instructions on setting up the Microsoft loopback connection, I got them from http://orabase.blogspot.com/2006/08/loopback-adapters-for-oracle.html, I'll just post them here to save you some time.

1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add Hardware to start the Add Hardware wizard.
3. On the Welcome screen, click Next.
4. On the Is the hardware connected? screen, select Yes, I have already connected the hardware, and click Next.
5. On the The following hardware is already installed on your computer screen, select Add a new hardware device, and click Next.
6. On the The wizard can help you install other hardware screen, select Install the hardware that I manually select from a list, and click Next.
7. From the list, select the type of hardware you are installing screen, select Network adapters, and click Next.
8. On the Select Network Adapter screen, make the following selections:
* Manufacturer: select Microsoft.
* Network Adapter: select Microsoft Loopback Adapter.
9. Click Next.
10. On the The wizard is ready to install your hardware screen, click Next.
11. On the Completing the Add Hardware Wizard screen, click Finish.
12. If you are using Windows 2003, restart your computer.
13. Right-click My Network Places on the desktop and choose Properties. This displays the Network Connections control panel.
14. Right-click the connection that was just created. This is usually named "Local Area Connection 2". Choose Properties.
15. On the General tab, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and click Properties.
16. In the Properties dialog, do the following:
1. IP Address: Enter a non-routable IP for the loopback adapter. Oracle recommends the following non-routable addresses:
* 192.168.x.x (x is any value between 1 and 255)
* 10.10.10.10
2. Subnet mask: Enter 255.255.255.0.
3. Leave all other fields empty.
4. Click OK.
17. Click OK.
18. Click OK in the Local Area Connection 2 Properties dialog.
19. Restart the computer.
20. Add a line to the C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file with the following format, after the localhost line:

IP_address hostname.domainname hostname

where:
* IP_address is the non-routable IP address you entered in step 16.
* hostname is the name of the computer.
* domainname is the name of the domain.

For example:

10.10.10.10 mycomputer.mydomain.com mycomputer

21. Check the network configuration:
1. Open System Properties, and select the Computer Name tab. In Full computer name, make sure you see the hostname and the domain name.
2. Click Change. In Computer name, you should see the hostname, and in Full computer name, you should see the hostname and domain name.
3. Click More. In Primary DNS suffix of this computer, you should see the domain name.

Once you have all those things set up your Oracle database install should go smoothly.

Happy hunting.