11.0.

x : Patch Installation Frequently Asked Questions Questions & Answers------------------1) When applying patches, where should the patch files reside so thatADPATCH can find them? The patches can be copied anywhere as long as the environment is setcorrectly when executing ADPATCH. Usually, the patches are located in adirectory under $APPL_TOP. 2) Which drivers should be run first? If they have been run in thewrong order can you run them again? Patches that begin with 'db??????.drv' are database drivers.Database drivers should always be run after the patch.drv driver. Thepatch.drv is a file system patch which is used to update the file systemwith new versions of certain files. When there is more than one 'db'driver, the readme.txt should provide information on the requiredsequence for application. If 'db' drivers are not run in the correct order, you may rerun themusing the correct sequence. 3) What does ADPATCH actually do with a 'db' driver? It alters the tables in the database. Even if the executables arerestored (on the file system), they may not work properly because thestructure and information in the database has changed. These patches cancreate tables, add indexes, and alter the APPS schema. The only way toback-out a 'db' driver is with a database backup. 4) Is there a file that lists all of the patches that have been appliedto the application? There are two files that are created in APPL_TOP directory which listall the patches applied to the application:o applptch.txto applpatch.tmp These files are created when a new APPL_TOP is created. Without the.txt file, patches cannot be applied. Grep the .txt file for the patchnumber in question. 5) Is there a command to list all to the patches for one application? grep -i 'begin bug ar' applptch.txt 6) Can you reapply a patch? Does this cause any problems?You can always reapply patches without a problem. 7) A patch fails on a column with one of the following errors: 11.0.x : Patch Installation Frequently Asked Questions ORA-00904 invalid column nameorORA-00942 table or view does not existReview the manual steps in the README file distributed with thepatch. This problem can usually be corrected by following the steps inthis file. 8)

What log files are generated by ADPATCH? When you start ADPATCH, you name the log file. If you do not give ita unique name each time, the log information is appended to the end ofthe existing file. The file is located in $APPL_TOP/install/log and theDEFAULT name is adpatch.log. The ADPATCH log file could containreferences to many patches.Some patches may spawn workers which each have an associated logfile. Worker. These log files are named adwork01.log, adwork02.log,etc., and are located in $APPL_TOP/install/log. They should be checkedfor errors when a new patch is installed. 9) What happens when a patch is applied whose version is lower than thecurrent installed version of the patch?Higher versions contained within the patch are copied; the lowerversions are ignored. 10) A "BAD MAGIC" error message is received during the relinking stage ofADPATCH.This error is normally caused by running the wrong platform patch(i.e. An HP-UX patch is run on a SUN platform). 11) Which patches can be backed out and is there a problem in doing this? Database drivers 'db' CANNOT be backed out without a system backup.The patch.drv portion of the patch MAY be backed out by reversing itssteps. However, it is strongly recommended that you contact OracleWorldwide Support before doing so. Caution------There is no utility that is available to reverse the installation of apatch. Therefore, we recommend that a full system backup is performedprior to the installation of any patch.