Soup to Nuts: Oracle 11g Client on Windows (Part 1)

The Soup: Installing The Oracle 11g Client

Chances are higher than 90% that if you work in a corporate environment you are logging onto a Windows OS every morning.  If you happen to dabble in the Oracle domain, chances are also highly likely that you have (or will need) the Oracle client installed on your machine.  The Oracle client installer, like many things Oracle-branded, is based on Java, which can best be described as “tolerated” by Windows (though some corporations are becoming less so).  Frankly, I dislike Java-based installers as they tend not to tie in well with the Windows operating system, and the Oracle client installer is no exception.  Regardless of the underlying technology or my opinion, my need to have the client installed is still very real as I work with both SQL Server and Oracle database solutions.  In my experience, it’s quite easy to end up with either a bad, broken, or partially working Oracle 11g Client installation without even knowing how or why.  This 2-part post will help avoid these situations before they begin or help rectify them if you already find yourself in a bad spot.  Part 1 will outline how and what to install using the installer, and Part 2 will outline how to uninstall the client, both automatically (if possible) and manually (if necessary).