ORA-01122 Database File Failed Verification Tips

Expert Oracle Database Tips by Donald BurlesonApril 4, 2015

Question: : I am trying to start up my database, and I get the ORA-01122 error:

ORA- 01122: Database file %s failed verification check

How do I resolve the ORA-01122 error?

Answer: First, we use the oerr utility to look up the action for the ORA-01122 error:

ORA- 01122: Database file %s failed verification check

Cause: The information in this file is inconsistent with information from the controlfile. See accompanying message for reason.

Action: Make certain that the db files and controlfiles are the correct files for this database.

The ORA-01122 error is a "ghost" error, and the real error message follows in the error messages.

The accompanying message is often the ORA-01207 error:

ORA-01207: file is more recent than controlfile - old controlfile.

In this case, the solution is to use the current control file, or issue the BACKUP CONTROLFILE RECOVERY command, to make the control file current.

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