The events:
- I downloaded Oracle 10g XE Beta to give it a spin. But an issue with the Windows XP installer caused this to hang. Of course I did not check the forum first and assumed it was due to me messing up my 10g EE uninstall. Meaning I was dumb enough to assume I was dumb enough to mess it up.
- Tom Kyte’s blog post about the 10g XE Production release reminded me of this unfinished business. So I downloaded the new version and started installing it. I occassionally forget that Murphy’s laws apply to me. The new version would not install because it detected an older version. I could not uninstall the older version since it hadn’t completed and there was nothing to remove in ‘Add Remove Programs’.
- So I first had to install the older version successfully so that it could be uninstalled. I tried various things (except booting up in safe mode and getting rid of the registry entries and folders – that did work for me later). Somehow I got it to the point where it did start appearing in ‘Add Remove Programs’ and uninstalled it.
- Started the installation of the new version. This should be a cinch now … right? Of course not. The installer has found a new place to hang. This time I went to the forum with no prompting. Cleaned up the install in safe mode. Tried the installation by disabling the firewall and anti-virus. My luck finally turned. Finally a clean install. Thanks to the guys at the forum and Danny K for not only reminding me of the forum, but pointing me to the exact thread as well.
In case you actually care about why these few events should prompt a title as pompous as the above, here are the reasons:
- I have been waiting to use this title since I saw it on Mark Rittman’s blog.
- The events took place over a month or so, during which I had no Oracle database to play with (except the Production instance at work I mean).
Stumblings 