EXP-00008: ORACLE error 904 encountered tips Oracle Database Tips by Donald Burleson

Question:  I am trying to export a table and I have this "EXP-00008: ORACLE error 904 encountered" error message:

Connected to: Oracle8i Enterprise Edition Release 8.1.7.4.0 - Production

About to export specified tables via Conventional Path ...

EXP-00008: ORACLE error 904 encountered

ORA-00904: invalid column name
 

Answer:  The EXP-0008 with the 904 "invalid column name" will always write a trace file, and you can check the trace file in your UDUMP directory to see the specific cause.  The "EXP-00008: ORACLE error 904 encountered" error can happen for several reasons:

• The most common cause of the EXP-0008 with the 904 code is a mismatch between the Oracle client and the database.  Verify that the version of your exp utility matches the database version.
   
• This 904 error can happen if you forget to run catproc.sql.
   
• Also see MOSC Note:1017276.102 "Oracle8i Export Fails on Synonym Export with EXP-00008 and ORA-00904".  This notes that a synonym named "DBMS_JAVA" or "DBMS_JAVA_TEST" may exist without a corresponding package.
  

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