TOAD message "Home is Not valid" (Oracle home is not valid)

I was trying to get my Toad running and it was giving me "Home is not Valid" error, This error doesn't give much information and finding root cause was not easy :( . Here is the thing that I was doing.

- My system had Oracle 9 client pre-installed. I installed Toad and it was giving me home is not valid error.
- My need was to also update Oracle so I went and uninstalled prior version of Oracle client. (remember clean uninstall of prior oracle client is very necessary. If you are expert then try to clear registry entry as well which oracle generally leaves after uninstall as well :( )
- After that I installed Oracle 10.2 and then Toad(9.7.2) but it was still giving the same error. I set the Proper system variables(PATH) and also put my valid TNSnames.ora in proper location, but no luck!!   then I uninstalled Toad 9.7.2 and reinstalled Toad 10.6 and after rebooting machine it's working fine!! :)

I hope this helps.

Also, Please note that I also follow below steps after installing oracle:

1. Add C:\Oracle\ORA10_2\BIN to your PATH environment variable
2. Install ODP dlls in your GAC 
3. Restore your project specific tnsnames.ora  to C:\Oracle\ORA10_2\NETWORK\ADMIN
4. If you are accessing Oracle from .NET web applications running on IIS 5, give IIS/ASPNET permissions on  your Oracle folder
     a.    Grant ASPNET user read/execute permissions on C:\Oracle\ ORA10_2
               i.    In Windows Explorer, right click on the Ora10.1 folder and select Sharing and Security…
               ii.    Click the Security tab
               iii.    Click "Add…"
               iv.    Type yourMachineName\ASPNET in the bottom textbox and click "OK".
               v.    Make sure the Read & Execute, List Folder Contents and Read boxes are checked. Make sure  permissions are propagated to all subfolders.  Click "OK"
    b.    Reset IIS
5. Restart Visual Studio, update your project references to use the new version of Oracle.DataAccess.dll, clean and rebuild your solution
 
 

Listing Date MCX IPO

Stock Market / IPO Open Date     22-Feb-2012 Close Date     24-Feb-2012 Allotment Date     05-Mar-2012 Refund Date     06-Mar-2012 Listing Date     07-to-09-Mar-2012 (Expected) MCX IPO Allotment status : http://mis.karvycomputershare.com/ipo

Appointment for Passport Renewal through Passport Seva Kendra (PSK)

Getting appointment for any work at Passport Seva Kendra is a BIG DEAL!! I had to renew my passport recently and when I got the appointment at Bangalore Sai Arcade PSK after hard try it was like winning a battle! :) I was in very hurry to renew my passport due to personal issue and I tried couple of days to get the appointment without luck :( . Brokers were saying me 1500Rs to get appointment and he promised me to get appointment at 4:00 pm, which is exactly 2 hours before the official time of taking appointment(6:00 pm). Finally one online friend help me in getting appointment.

I checked with inquiry section at PSK about the procedure to get emergency appointment and the person told me that in emergency cases I need to get a letter from Passport Officer of RPO. As I wanted immediate appointment I tried visiting Koramangala RPO as well but I was not allowed at entrance itself saying I need "Admit Card" from the office of PO to meet PO. Entrance security pointed me to the office number of PO and I tried calling them 60 times, 61st time a lady picked up the call and without listening to my situation she just said "We Don't issue appointment". I tried again and someone just picked the call and keep it aside :(. So getting a appointment to meet PO seems impossible to me.( unless you know him ;) )

Here is some information that can help people who are trying to book an appointment.


1. It is a myth that your online submitted application should be a week or 10 days older to get appointment. You can get appointment if you created profile on same day as well.
2. Be ready at sharp 6:00 PM and login to http://passportindia.gov.in( For Bangalore PSK, other PSK the timings are different! )
3. try your luck! :)

BTW, I was helped with some professional to get appointment.

Best Luck!