( This is on Windows XP Client with SQLNET.ORA SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES = (NTS) for OS authentication. ) I ran into an issue a few days ago that has taken me till this morning to have resolved and I wanted to see if anyone had run into this. I installed Oracle 10.2.0.1 Client and couldn't OS authenticate to remote databases on the initial connection. If I tried 2 times in a row, the second attempt would authenticate. After tracing the Oracle calls, I discovered that the client (on the 1st connection) was getting the following errors/warnings: nnflgetnlpactx: NLPA context successfuly initialized nnflgetnlpactx: exit nzgblinitialize: entry nzumalloc: entry nzdcpig_init_global: entry nzumalloc: entry nzucpget_parameter: entry nzdycs1_start: entry nzdycs1_start: exit nzucpget_parameter: parameter "oss.default_file_directory" does not exist. nzucpget_parameter: exit nzupawp_apply_wrl_policy: entry nzupgew_get_environ_wrl: entry nzupgew_get_environ_wrl: Environment Variable not found or empty value. nzupgew_get_environ_wrl: returning error: 28781 On the 2nd attempt, these messages weren't present and the client connects correctly. After doing some digging I realized that this is specific to Oracle Wallet and/or Oracle security. So, on the client side, I followed this article: http://www.oracle-base.com/articles/10g/SecureExternalPasswordStore_10gR2.php Voila! I can now connect to my database using OS authentication. Now, here's the issue. I installed Oracle Wallet as part of the Client install using "Custom" options but I never set it up. It appears that just by having it installed, that Oracle tries to authenticate using configurations stored in the Wallet (when using OS auth) and then returns "Invalid Username/Password". It seems counter-intuitive to me that just by having it installed, it would cause the Oracle client to fail the handshake on the initial connection, but successfully resolve on the second attempt. Some other trace info that showed up which led me sort of down a rabbit trail: nioqrc: found a break marker.. nioqrc: Recieve: returning error: 3111 nioqrc: exit nioqrs: entry nioqrs: state = interrupted (1) nscontrol: entry nscontrol: cmd=1, lcl=0x0 nscontrol: normal exit nioqrs: state = interrupted (1) nioqrs: nioqrs: sending reset marker... Solutions: 1.) Configure Oracle Wallet for databases you wish to OS authenticate to 2.) Uninstall Oracle client and reinstall without Oracle Wallet/Advanced Security where its not needed (unverified) Probably what I should do is completely uninstall the Oracle Client and reinstall without the Oracle Wallet/Advanced Security options. So, anyone else experienced anything like this? Chris Taylor Sr. Oracle DBA Ingram Barge Company Nashville, TN 37205 Office: 615-517-3355 Cell: 615-354-4799 Email: chris.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:chris.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and may also be privileged. If you are not the named recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete the contents of this message without disclosing the contents to anyone, using them for any purpose, or storing or copying the information on any medium.