When trying to connect, either a blank error prompt is given, or the message "Can't Initialize OCI. Error -1" when trying to connect.
Connection in other Quest products like Toad for Oracle or Spotlight don't have any issues. Launching Optimizer from within Toad may or may not carry over the connection information.
Incorrect settings in Environment Variables or limited read/write privileges to the Oracle client registry and directories.
An Oracle client is required for connection.
RESOLUTION 1:
Verify that the correct client is being used to connect if there are multiple clients installed.
1. Select Connection icon at the top-right corner of Optimizer screen
2. Under “Connect Using” drop down, ensure the expected client has been selected.
3. Select "Create" to recreate the connection if anything is changed.
RESOLUTION 2:
Verify these settings for all clients installed (that you expect to use). Go to My Computer | Properties | Advanced tab | click Environment Variables. Under System Variables,
- Verify the PATH variable. It should start with the paths to your Oracle clients. If there is a particular client that will be used the most, put that in the front. If you have an instant client, this is required to be listed first.
- Verify the TNS_ADMIN variable. This is generally optional. If your client has trouble pulling up the full tnsnames list in the connection window, you may need to add this. It should have the path to your tnsnames.ora file.
- Verify the ORACLE_HOME variable. This is generally optional. If you have this please make sure it points to a valid client Bin directory. As a test you can try removing it to see if that helps your connection. If it is not there, you don't need to have one. If it is there and it is blank, please remove it from the list.
RESOLUTION 3:
Right click | Properties or "Run As". In Windows 7, in the Privilege Level section, select to "Run this program as an Administrator"
Make sure applications have read and write access to the Oracle client registry and files. In some cases the application may need to be run as Admin becase of how a user's login is setup. If this is an option please do so.
Similar Toad connection trouble shooting suggestions can be applied to Optimizer also:
https://support.quest.com/Search/SolutionDetail.aspx?id=SOL64853
In some cases, verify if UAC settings are limiting the application's access and privileges also.
