[Solved] sqlplus / as sysdba not working

Earlier in one of our previous posts we had discussed how to login to Oracle 11g Database as the SYS user without credentials. However this doesn't apply everywhere, chances are that you might have come across this error as shown below,

Login as SYSDBA

Error

Cause: This is because the Windows user you have used to login is not a part of the ORA_DBA group. 

Resolution: The issue can be resolved by adding the user to the ORA_DBA group as described in the steps below,

1. Go to Administrative Tools > Server Manager 
2. Inside the Server Manager > Configuration > Local Users and Groups > Groups locate the ORA_DBA group 
   
3. Open the ORA_DBA group and add the windows user to the group as seen below,
   
4. Check again with the sqlplus / as sysdba command again after you have added the user to the group and the issue will be fixed as below,

   

   SQLPlus logged successfully as SYSDBA user