ORA-01110: data file N: 'path'

What does it mean?

A supplementary (secondary) message indicating a problem with the datafile of the given number and path. It never appears alone; it is preceded by another ORA error reporting the actual problem, and this line only tells you which datafile is affected.

Why does it happen?

It usually accompanies a primary error such as the datafile being offline (ORA-00376), needing media recovery (ORA-01113), block corruption (ORA-01578) or the file being unreadable. Disk failure, accidental deletion, a moved file or an incomplete restore from backup can trigger it.

How to fix it

Read the actual ORA error preceding this line and resolve it. Check the affected file: SELECT file#, name, status FROM v$datafile; If recovery is needed: RECOVER DATAFILE 'path'; then ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE 'path' ONLINE; If the file is physically lost, restore and recover it with RMAN: RESTORE DATAFILE N; RECOVER DATAFILE N;