Contrary to its syntax, this command does not actually backup the controlfile. Rather, it creates a trace file with the commands to recreate the controlfile. Open it up with a text editor and copy the correct lines into SQL*Plus while connected to an idle instance of your database. Note that there are two sets of commands, to recreate the controlfile with or without resetting the logs. On 4/19/06 10:47 AM, Alessandro Vercelli wrote: > alter database backup controlfile to '<destination_path/file>' --------------- Jason Heinrich Oracle Database Administrator Pensacola Christian College -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l