If anybody is interested in helping me with run a test case that indicates that access to V$views is random depending on what is in the buffer cache no matter what user privileges are provided then can they drop me a mail please and I will send a test case. It does not appear to fail on linux but it does on HPUX (11:31) 11GR2 - all versions Some teasers are below Select username from dba_users; - success Select tablespace_name from dba_tablespaces - success Select file_name from dba_data_files - success The select from the dba views is successful, as the data has been cached. Flush the shared pool SQL> alter system flush shared_pool; System altered. SQL> SQL> select username from dba_users; select username from dba_users * ERROR at line 1: ORA-00604: error occurred at recursive SQL level 2 ORA-01115: IO error reading block from file (block # ) ORA-01110: data file 1: '+DATA/dbatest/datafile/system.269.781706107' ORA-15081: failed to submit an I/O operation to a disk Thanks John DBA Team Leader Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Tel 0845 611 4589 Mob: 07876 790540 E-mail: john.hallas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ______________________________________________________________________ Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc is registered in England with number 358949. The registered office of the company is situated at Gain Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD3 7DL. This email and any attachments are intended for the addressee(s) only and may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please inform the sender by replying to the email that you have received in error and then destroy the email. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use, disclose, copy or rely on the email or its attachments in any way. This email does not constitute a contract in writing for the purposes of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989. Our Standard Terms and Conditions of Purchase, as may be amended from time to time, apply to any contract that we enter into. The current version of our Standard Terms and Conditions of Purchase is available at: http://www.morrisons.co.uk/gscop Although we have taken steps to ensure the email and its attachments are virus-free, we cannot guarantee this or accept any responsibility, and it is the responsibility of recipients to carry out their own virus checks. ______________________________________________________________________ -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l