Simon Krenger

I just noticed that every time I need to create a password file, I have to look up the Oracle documentation for the correct syntax of the ORAPWD arguments. So this post is mainly for my own reference and contains the proper syntax for UNIX and Windows systems as well as an example for each system.

UNIX syntax:

orapwd file=$ORACLE_HOME/dbs/orapw$ORACLE_SID password=the_secret_password

UNIX example:

orapwd file=/u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/db_1/dbs/orapwkrengerdb password=the_secret_password

Windows syntax:

orapwd file=%ORACLE_HOME%\database\PWD%ORACLE_SID%.ora password=the_secret_password

Windows example:

orapwd file=D:\oracle\app\product\11.2.0\db_1\database\PWDKRENGERDB.ora password=the_secret_password

Please note that for the configuration of Password File Authentication, you need to prepare your database by following the steps described in the Oracle documentation: Using Password File Authentication”