cannot set ARCHIVELOG mode

SVRMGR> alter database rsdev01 archivelog;
alter database rsdev01 archivelog
*
ORA-00265: instance recovery required, cannot set ARCHIVELOG mode


What does it mean and how do I turn on ARCHIVELOG mode?

If you have to turn on the archiving, you have to startup the DB in "mount" mode and then issue the following command.
"alter database archivelog"

svrmgrl> shutdown immediate ;

svrmgrl> startup mount ;

svrmgrl> alter database archivelog ;

To enable the automatic archiving you have to set the following line in the init.ora file before restarting the instance .

LOG_ARCHIVE_START=TRUE

You can dynamically do this by,

svrmgrl> alter system archive log start ;

ORA 00265 MEANS" The database either crashed or was shut down with the ABORT option. Media recovery cannot be enabled because the online logs may not be sufficient to recover the current datafiles."
Action: "Open the database and then enter the shutdown command with the normal or immediate option"

Then do what gsprince has described.

your error message came from shutdown process. you must shutdown instance using shutdown abirt. then it need instance recovery. shut it down using normal or immediate and then turn archive log on.

Thanks! It worked.