Troubleshoot ORA-02236: invalid file name : easy guide

The error ORA-02236: invalid file name we may get in either of the below cases. Let’s go through the cases one by one :

Error : ORA-02236: invalid file name

Cause: A character string literal was not used in the filename list of a LOGFILE, DATAFILE, or RENAME clause.

Action: Use correct syntax.

The error ‘ORA-02236: invalid file name’ we may get in either of the below cases :

Case 1: While adding the logfile :

While adding the logfile we may get this error as we can see the db_recovery_file_dest is not mentioned. So it will not take any location by default. So we have to follow the correct syntax mentioning the datafile name with location.

Error :
SQL> ALTER DATABASE ADD STANDBY LOGFILE GROUP 6 size 5G;
ALTER DATABASE ADD STANDBY LOGFILE GROUP 6 size 5G
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-02236: invalid file name
or,
SQL> ALTER DATABASE ADD STANDBY LOGFILE GROUP 1 size 1M;
ALTER DATABASE ADD STANDBY LOGFILE GROUP 1 size 1M
                                           *
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-02236: invalid file name

Check Below :
SQL> sho parameter db_create_file_dest;

NAME				     TYPE	 VALUE
------------------------------------ ----------- ------------------------------
db_create_file_dest		     string

 
Solution : 

SQL> ALTER DATABASE ADD STANDBY LOGFILE  GROUP  9 '/u01/app/oracle/TEST/redo/stdby_redo_g9m1.dbf' size 8M;

Database altered.

Case 2: while adding/resizing a datafile to a tablespace or creating a tablespace

Also, we can get this error while adding/resizing a datafile to a tablespace or creating a tablespace.

The datafile name has to be mentioned here until it is using OMF(Oracle Managed Files)

Error :
SQL> alter tablespace USERS
add datafile size 3G autoextend on maxsize 30G;
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-02236: invalid file name

Solution :
SQL> alter tablespace USERS add datafile '/u01/app/oracle/TEST/data/users02.dbf'
 size 3G autoextend on maxsize 30G;
Database altered.

Troubleshoot ORA-02236: invalid file name: Easy Guide

Case 3: while exporting from an ASM storage and importing into the non-asm storage.

Also, you may get this error while exporting from an ASM storage and importing into the non-asm storage. For the solution, you can check out the Oracle Doc ID 2464298.1 . Its nicely described here.

So, here are some of the easy steps to troubleshoot and resolve the error ORA-02236: invalid file name. Hope this helps!!

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