[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by pwoneill [/i]
[B]Jeff: What was the significance of removing lkDEMO?
[/B][/QUOTE]
I'm not exactly sure what it does, but it has something to do with saving the state your last startup/shutdown. If your database is down and you remove the file it will be re-created upon startup. I had a problem similar to yours and when I called Oracle Support, they told me to delete this file.

Actually, if you take a look at the file it contains "DO NOT DELETE THIS FILE!". Just when you think you have a firm grasp on Oracle...