Interim patches and 'installing' OPatch

Help!

I have downloaded a Security patch (3280131) for 9.2.0.4 (I'm running on 32-bit Windows 2003) but it requires the perl utlity Opatch to install it.

I have downloaded the opatch zip file and unzipped it and it produces an opatch file , an opatch.bat Batch file and an opatch.pl file. There are no instructions as to how to 'install' opatch or indeed if you even need to.

Is it a matter of installing it to a specific location or can you just run Opatch.pl from the command line as long as you add the full path name of the perl executable, the full patch of the opatch.pl file and the patchset to be used?

e.g.

C:\> \perl\5.00503\bin\MSWin32-x86\perl5 C:\oracle\patch\Opatch\opatch.pl apply C:\oracle\patch\3280131

Stumped at this point?

dont call opatch.pl just use opatch and ensure you have the correct perl version in your path

then go opatch appply

it will tell you if you are wrong.

The release notes for the patch should tell you what to do.

Sonner oracle get rid of opatch the better as far as I concerned

If I just use opatch I get an error "Can't exec /bin/sh at \opatch line 1"

Which brings me back to my original question: after unzipping the downloaded Opatch zip file, what do you do with it? Do you have to install Opatch or move the Opatch files somewhere specific?

If you follow the docs from Oracle, you will run into quite a few issues. Any way, couple things you might want to keep in mind:

1. use the older version of perl, Oracle said to use the new one and it's a bug you won't be able to install. the older version of perl is already on your o/s so there is no need to install.

2. set opatch on your env so that when you don't have to specify the opatch directory when you are ready to install. To set opatch env, right click on your computer -> properties -> advanced -> environement variables -> system variables -> path and add the opatch directories in here.

3. now just go to the interim patch folder and type : opatch interim_patchnames.

let me know if you have any questions, I have done this couple times on Linux and windows.

SHUTDOWN ALL OF THE SERVICES

So for the Opatch variable I'd call the Variable ... what? OPATCH?

And

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now just go to the interim patch folder and type : opatch interim_patchnames

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so there's no need to reference perl at all?

My perl install is at: C:\oracle\ora92\apache\perl\5.00503\bin\MSWin32-x86\perl5.00503 - Some docs I've read point you at specifying this pathname so that opatch knows where perl is and what version is used, is this not necessary?

Is it as simple as
(a) specifying OPATCH as a system variable - pathname to the Opatch executable from the zip file.
(b) possibly specifying ORACLE_HOME in a similar manner
(c) go to folder where the patch is and exeuting: opatch apply interim_patch_id ?

your perl version is ok. DO NOT INSTALL THE NEWER VERSION.

(a) specifying OPATCH as a system variable - pathname to the Opatch executable from the zip file.
unzip opatch and set this directories on your environment
(b) possibly specifying ORACLE_HOME in a similar manner
no need
(c) go to folder where the patch is and exeuting: opatch apply interim_patch_id ?
yes.

it's very simple once you install one of them. the docs make things so complicated and confused.

email me if you are confused. williamsith@yahoo.com

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it's very simple once you install one of them. the docs make things so complicated and confused.

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You're telling me! And support aren't much clearer. Thanks, will give it a go.

Reason Iasked about ORACLE_HOME is that I did manage to execute a opatch command (withvery lengthy pathname strings) and it failed as it said there was 'No Oracle Home to apply patch to'. Even though Oracle Home does exist (C:\oracle\ora92) and appears correctly in the registry.

Finally got it to work (well I think so???) with a mixture of approaches.

Even though my Oracle home is correctly set in the registry, by setting the ORACLE_HOME system variable it seems that Opatch can see it!

I navigate to the folder where Opatch is (via the Command Prompt) and execute:

Opatch apply \patchfile

Opatch starts and echoes back very encouraging messages about Patching and Updating Inventory ... and then finishes with 'Opatch succeeded'.

So, where can I find evidence that the software has been patched? V$version still shows me 9.2.0.4.0

go to DOS and type:

opatch lsinventory