When i try to connect as sysdba, i get only the below mentioned option, whats wrong with my SQLPLUS, could someone give me some pointers ? Usage: SQLPLUS [ [] [] [] ] where::= -H | -V | [ [-L] [-M ] [-R ] [-S] ] ::= [/][@<connect_string>] | / | /NOLOG ::= @|[.] [ ...] "-H" displays the SQL*Plus version banner and usage syntax "-V" displays the SQL*Plus version banner "-L" attempts log on just once "-M " uses HTML markup options "-R " uses restricted mode "-S" uses silent mode