Failed to connect to the specified server. Underlying DBMS error[ORA-12154: TNS:could not resolve the connect identifier specified. No extended error]

Error Message

When creating a direct connect from ArcGIS Desktop installed on a computer installed with Windows 64-bit, the following error message is displayed:

"Failed to connect to the specified server. Underlying DBMS error[ORA-12154: TNS:could not resolve the connect identifier specified. No extended error.]"

Note:
This article pertains to ArcGIS versions 9.x only. Later versions of ArcGIS may contain different functionality, as well as different names and locations for menus, commands and geoprocessing tools.

Cause

This is a known issue with parentheses in install path names on the Windows 64-bit operating system.

Solution or Workaround

Perform one of the following workarounds:

• Reinstall ArcGIS Desktop on a Windows 64-bit computer to a path that does not contain parentheses. For example:

C:\Program Files\ArcGIS

• Fix the bug on a 64-bit computer:

1. Download and install the Oracle 10g 32-bit client from Oracle.com. This installs version 10.2.0.1 of the client.
2. Download and install Oracle Patch Number 4547817, which is '10.2.0.2 Patch for Windows 32-bit'. This upgrades the client to version 10.2.0.2.
3. Download and install Oracle 32-Bit Patch Number 5383042. This patch fixes Oracle Bug 3807408:

Note:
Externally authenticated usernames containing a parenthsis or an equal sign cannot be authenticated. Additionally, if a program name / path contains these characters, it may not be possible to connect (ORA-12154).