Oracle 10g: backup failed, log disk full – how to recover the database

oracleoracle10g

  • Because of failed backups, the disk used for transaction logs appears to be full.
  • The database is not accepting connections, so I cannot run the (HP Data Protector) backup job manually.
  • The Oracle instance directly mounts disk from a SAN, so there isn't any file system visible to Windows.

The database service is running, however. Is there a simple way to recover the database, maybe to the point that the backup job can be re-run and restore service?

Assume no Oracle knowledge beyond tnsping 😉

From the alert_mydatabase.log file, (<orahome>\admin\mydatabase\bdump\), 

ORA-15041: diskgroup space exhausted 
...
ARCH: Archival stopped, error occurred. Will continue retrying
...

Best Answer

ORA-15041: diskgroup space exhausted

Seems like you're using ASM to store your archivelogs/backups and you have probably filled it up (probably because old backups are not getting purged)

As cagcowboy has told you you're database is probably hung because it cannot archive and switch its current logfile but does not seem you have to recover/restore or something. Once you are able to free up some space the instance will continue its activity.

As already suggested, I should try to get in touch with Oracle support to get proper advise.

Regards.

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