One other piece of information: when I try using Oracle Enterprise = Manager to connect to the database (using SYS as SYSDBA), I go to the = "General" tab on Instance/Configuration, and this shows the database in = a "down" state (red traffic light). I then try to open the database, = click Apply, and the "Starting up the database" step fails with the = error: "ORA-03113: end-of-file on communication channel" Does this shed any more light on the possible cause of the problem? Paul -----Original Message----- From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Paul Vincent Sent: 02 November 2004 10:58 To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Oracle hangs on startup (9.2 on Win2000) We're getting a very strange problem with very few symptoms to work =3D from. It's our policy to take cold backups of our Oracle 9.2 database, which = =3D runs on a Win2000 server. Consequently, the Veritas backup job first =3D shuts down Agent, Listener and database, then the backup runs, then the = =3D job restarts the database, Listener and Agent. All the above has worked perfectly well for several months. Until last = =3D night... when someone tried to connect to the database, it was apparent = =3D that the database was still down. I looked in the event log and found = =3D the following: - - - - - Dump file d:\orant\admin\dlib\bdump\alert_dlib.log Tue Nov 02 10:44:42 2004 ORACLE V9.2.0.2.1 - Production vsnsta=3D3D0 vsnsql=3D3D12 vsnxtr=3D3D3 Windows 2000 Version 5.0 Service Pack 4, CPU type 586 Tue Nov 02 10:44:42 2004 Starting ORACLE instance (normal) - - - - - These were the last lines in the event log. It looks as though the =3D startup of Oracle simply "hung". No error messages, no trace files =3D generated. Nothing, just hanging there. We tried stopping and restarting the database service, with exactly the = =3D same result (the above is pasted from this later attempt, in fact). We = =3D tried rebooting the server. Same result. The listener log indicates no = =3D problems. But every attempt to startup the database gives the above =3D result. Any ideas, please? Paul Vincent (Desperate) DBA University of Central England -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l