On Microsoft Windows, there is a requirement that the directory where you install Oracle Database Free 23ai, and any of its parent directories other than the root directory, (for example, C:\) cannot be modified by the Authenticated Users group.

Oracle recommends that you accept the default installation location provided during the installation or enter an installation path consisting of directories that do not exist yet. The installer will create these directories for you with the permissions set correctly.

Alternatively, you may provide an installation location consisting of existing directories and allow the installer to change the permissions on these directories, removing access by the Authenticated Users group. You should only allow the installer to change permissions on existing directories if you are sure that this will not impact other applications using these directories.

For more information, see step 8 in Running the Installer.

To check the permissions of the directories in the path where you want to install Oracle Database Free, perform one of the following steps for each directory in the path:

1. Run the icacls utility to check the permissions of the directory. For example: C:\> icacls c:\dbfree
2. In File Explorer, right-click the directory and select the Security tab.

If you see that the Authenticated Users group can modify any of the directories in the path other than the root directory (for example, C:\), then you will not be able to install Oracle Database Free in that directory.

Most users will install Oracle Database Free by downloading the installation package, extracting the files, double-clicking setup.exe, and answering graphical user interface prompts as needed.

To install Oracle Database Free:

1. Log on to Windows with Administrator privileges.

   You must be a direct member of the Administrators group on Windows to install Oracle Database Free. If you are logged in as a domain user, ensure that you are connected to the network. Otherwise, you may receive a prerequisite check failure for Administrator privileges during the install.

2. If the ORACLE_HOME or TNS_ADMIN environment variables have been set, then delete them.

3. Download the Microsoft Windows version of Oracle Database Free.

4. Extract the downloaded zip file to a temporary location. Locate setup.exe and double click it. The installation of the prerequisites will take place, if applicable, to the environment.

5. In the Welcome to the InstallShield Wizard for Oracle Database 23ai Free window, click Next.

6. In the License Agreement window, read the text of the agreement and if you agree to its terms, select I accept the terms in the license agreement and then click Next. If you do not accept the terms, cancel the installation and delete the Oracle Database 23ai Free software from the computer.

7. The installer now performs a prerequisite check to ensure that:

   • the version and edition of Windows is supported

   • the environment variables ORACLE_HOME and TNS_ADMIN are not set

   • the installation user is a direct member of the Administrators group

   • there is no Oracle Database Free or Oracle Database Express Edition service already created

   If any of these checks fail, a Prerequisite Checks window will open notifying the user. In that case, cancel the installation, fix the problem, and retry the installation.

   Prerequisite Check	Details
   Windows Version	See, System Requirements.
   Windows Edition	Windows Home Edition is not supported.
   Install Environment Variables	ORACLE_HOME and TNS_ADMIN environment variables must not be set. These environment variables must be temporarily unset at the system level (unsetting them in a command prompt is not sufficient).
   Pre-existing Oracle Database Free or Oracle Database Express Edition Service	There must not be an existing Oracle Database Free or Oracle Database Express Edition Service on this machine.
   User Administrative Privileges	The current user must be a direct member of the Administrators group. Indirect membership of the Administrators group (e.g. when a user is a member of a group and that group is a member of Administrators), or running the installer "as administrator" is not sufficent. If you are logged in as a domain user, make sure you are on a network that can reach the domain server. For example, if you must use a VPN to reach your domain server, make sure to enable your VPN before beginning the installation. If you cannot connect to a network that can reach the domain server, you can instead create a local user and add that user to the local Administrators group. Then you can log in and install as that local user.

8. In the Destination Folder window, either accept the default location or click Change and type a path containing directories that do not exist yet into the Folder Name field in the Change Current Destination Folder dialog box. This allows the installer to create the directories for you. Do not use the Create New Folder icon in the Change Current Destination Folder dialog box. You may also select an existing installation directory. However, do not select a directory that has spaces in its name. Click Next.

   Figure 4-1 Change Current Destination Folder Dialog Box

   
   

   
   Description of "Figure 4-1 Change Current Destination Folder Dialog Box"

   
   

   On Microsoft Windows, there is a requirement that the directory where you install Oracle Database Free 23ai, and any of its parent directories cannot be modified by the Authenticated Users group. If you chose an existing directory and do not meet this requirement, the following warning screen appears:

   Figure 4-2 Warning Screen

   
   

   
   Description of "Figure 4-2 Warning Screen"

   
   

   If you see this message, Oracle recommends that you click Change and type a path containing directories that do not exist yet in the Folder Name field in the Change Current Destination Folder dialog box. This allows the installer to create the directories for you with the correct permissions. Do not use the Create New Folder icon in the Change dialog box as it will not create folders with the proper permissions.

   Alternatively, select the Modify permissions on provided directories checkbox and click Next. The installer changes the permissions on the existing directories, removing access by the Authenticated Users group. Select this checkbox only if you are sure that changing the permissions will not impact other applications that use these directories.

   Note:

   If you wish to check directory permissions or set the permissions manually see Authenticated Users Group Restriction for Oracle Database Free Installations for more details.

9. In the Oracle Database Information window, enter and confirm the single database password to use for the SYS, SYSTEM, and PDBADMIN database accounts. Then click Next.

   Note:

   The same password will be used for these accounts. The password should conform to the Oracle recommended standards. See Oracle Database Security Guide for more information about guidelines for securing passwords.

10. In the Summary window, review the installation settings, and if you are satisfied, click Install. Otherwise, click Back and modify the settings as necessary.

11. When the installation is complete, the Oracle Database Installed Successfully window is displayed.

    Make a note of the connection strings provided for multitentant container database and the pluggable database. Click Finish to close the installer.

If you plan to install Oracle Database Free on multiple computers or bundle it with a third-party application, then you may want to perform a silent installation, in which you download the installation file and run it at a command line using the provided response files.

If you have an existing version of Oracle Database Free, you can save your data by exporting it to data files. After you install the new version of Oracle Database Free, you can import this data into the new database.

To perform a silent installation of Oracle Database Free:

1. Log on to Windows with Administrator privileges.

   You must be part of the Administrators group on Windows to install Oracle Database Free. If you are logged in as a domain user, ensure that you are connected to the network.

2. Download Oracle Database Free for Microsoft Windows. Extract the files to a temporary directory.

3. Open the FREEInstall.rsp response file and modify the settings if necessary.

   Note:

   For information on response file parameters, see Table 4-2.

4. If the ORACLE_HOME environment variable has been set, then delete it.

5. Run the installation file with the FREEInstall.rsp response file.

   For example, if you extracted the setup.exe file and the FREEInstall.rsp file to a directory called free_temp, you would enter the following command:

   c:\free_temp> setup.exe /s /v"RSP_FILE=c:\free_temp\response\FREEInstall.rsp" /v"/L*v c:\free_temp\setup.log" /v"/qn"

   After the installation is complete, Oracle Database Free starts.

SEVERE: The provided destination folder is under a directory that is modifiable by
      Authenticated users. Specify a path that is not modifiable by Authenticated
    Users.