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Oracle Database Error Solutions & DBA Knowledge Base

Practical, step-by-step Oracle Database troubleshooting and administration resources for DBAs, developers, Oracle E-Business Suite administrators, and IT professionals.

Explore practical guidance covering Oracle Database errors, RMAN backup and recovery, Data Guard, ASM, RAC, performance tuning, installation, patching, cloning, Oracle Linux administration, and Oracle E-Business Suite.

Our troubleshooting guides explain common causes, diagnostic steps, SQL queries, configuration checks, and recommended solutions to help database professionals understand problems and resolve them systematically.

Start with the Oracle Error Codes Guide or explore the main DBA topic areas to find detailed technical articles and practical administration resources.

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ORA-01722: Invalid Number – Complete Oracle DBA & SQL Troubleshooting Guide

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🚨 Quick Production Summary Error Message: ORA-01722: invalid number Immediate Causes: Implicit data type conversion failure where Oracle attempts to convert a character string containing non-numeric characters (such as letters, spaces, or incorrect punctuation) into a numeric data type during SQL execution, filtering, or sorting. The ORA-01722: invalid number exception is one of the most common and frustrating runtime errors encountered by Database Administrators (DBAs), SQL developers, and application support engineers in Oracle Database environments. Whether you are building complex SQL queries, writing custom PL/SQL packages, or maintaining enterprise applications like Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) , this error abruptly terminates SQL statements when data type expectations collide. Unlike syntax errors that fail immediately upon parsing, ORA-01722 is typically a data-dependent runtime error. A SQL query or report might execute successfully for m...

ORA-01403: No Data Found – Complete Oracle PL/SQL & SQL Troubleshooting Guide

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🚨 Quick Production Summary Error Message: ORA-01403: no data found Immediate Causes: An explicit SELECT ... INTO statement in PL/SQL returned zero rows, an unhandled exception in custom database packages, or missing relational data during batch processing in enterprise applications like Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) . The ORA-01403: no data found exception is one of the most widely encountered runtime errors in Oracle Database programming. While developers and Database Administrators (DBAs) see it constantly during PL/SQL development, encountering it unexpectedly in production environments can cause concurrent programs, background jobs, and application workflows to fail abruptly. Unlike standard SQL queries—which simply return an empty result set when no matching rows exist—PL/SQL's strict execution model treats zero rows returned by a scalar SELECT ... INTO query as an explicit error condition. When Oracle cannot populate the target variables...

ORA-28002: Password Will Expire Soon – Complete Oracle DBA Troubleshooting & Resolution Guide

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🚨 Quick Production Summary Warning Message: ORA-28002: the password will expire within X days Immediate Causes: Oracle Database Profile password life limits ( PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME ), strict enterprise security compliance policies, or forgotten application service account password rotations. The ORA-28002: the password will expire within X days warning is one of the most critical proactive alerts encountered by Oracle Database Administrators (DBAs), security auditors, and application support teams. Unlike hard exceptions that immediately block access—such as ORA-01017: invalid username/password; logon denied or ORA-28000: the account is locked — ORA-28002 is a grace-period warning. It informs you that a specific database user account's password is approaching its expiration deadline governed by the assigned Oracle Profile. While this warning appears harmless at first glance, ignoring it in enterprise environments—particularly for mission-critical...

ORA-00020: Maximum Number of Processes Exceeded – Complete Oracle DBA Troubleshooting & Resolution Guide

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ORA-00020: Maximum Number of Processes Exceeded – Complete Oracle DBA Troubleshooting & Resolution Guide 🚨 Quick Production Summary Error: ORA-00020: maximum number of processes (string) exceeded Immediate Causes: Exhaustion of the database PROCESSES initialization parameter, runaway connection pooling in middleware layers, connection leaks from unclosed application sessions, or operating system process limit restrictions. The ORA-00020: maximum number of processes exceeded error is one of the most critical and disruptive alerts an Oracle Database Administrator can encounter. When this error triggers, the database refuses to accept any new connections—including administrative logins via SQL*Plus AS SYSDBA in certain severe resource-exhaustion scenarios—leaving applications offline and users locked out. Unlike intermittent query timeouts or network glitches, ORA-00020 is a hard architectural boundary. Every connection to an Oracle Database—whether it is a user...

ORA-03135: Connection Lost Contact – Complete Oracle DBA Troubleshooting & Resolution Guide

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ORA-03135: Connection Lost Contact – Complete Oracle DBA Troubleshooting & Resolution Guide 🚨 Quick Production Summary Error: ORA-03135: connection lost contact Immediate Causes: Network timeout, idle session timeout (firewall/load balancer drop), server-side crash/process termination (OOM killer), or dead connection checker misconfiguration (`SQLNET.EXPIRE_TIME`). The ORA-03135: connection lost contact error is one of the most frustrating and frequently encountered connectivity failures in Oracle Database environments. Whether you are managing high-transaction OLTP systems, reporting warehouses, or complex multi-tier enterprise applications like Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) , this error abruptly terminates active or idle database sessions, disrupting user workflows and failing background processes. Unlike errors that prevent a connection from being established in the first place (such as ORA-12514 or ORA-12541 ), ORA-03135 occurs after a successful connecti...

All Receiving Transactions Fail with "Cannot Create Accounting Flexfield Combination" – Complete Oracle E-Business Suite R12 Troubleshooting Guide

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All Receiving Transactions Fail with "Cannot Create Accounting Flexfield Combination" – Complete Oracle E-Business Suite R12 Troubleshooting Guide The "Cannot Create Accounting Flexfield Combination" error is one of the most common accounting validation issues encountered in Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) , particularly within Oracle Purchasing (PO) , Oracle Inventory (INV) , Oracle Receiving (RCV) , Oracle Cost Management (CST) , and Oracle General Ledger (GL) . This error typically occurs when Oracle attempts to create or validate an Accounting Flexfield Code Combination during a receiving transaction but cannot generate a valid General Ledger account. As a result, receiving transactions fail, material cannot be received into inventory, accounting entries are not created, and downstream business processes such as inventory costing, accounts payable matching, and financial reporting may also be affected. In production environments, this issue is commo...