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Informix Error -826

Cause and resolution

Fork system call failed.

This internal error indicates an inability to start a subordinate process. Possibly it stems from an attempt to enter vi from DB-Access when using the Use-editor option. Look for operating-system error messages that might give more information. Retry the operation. If the error recurs, contact your system administrator. In DOS systems, you probably are out of memory; exit to the operating-system command line, and resubmit your program.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-826 fires when the server/client can't start a subordinate OS process — per the official guidance, a common trigger is attempting to enter vi from DB-Access via the Use-editor option; more generally, this reflects an OS-level resource limit being hit at the moment of the fork() call.

  1. Attempting to enter vi (or another external editor) from DB-Access's Use-editor option, per the official guidance's specific named example.
  2. A system-wide process-count limit reached, preventing any new process from being forked at that moment, per the official guidance's pointer to checking OS-level error messages.
  3. On DOS systems specifically, insufficient memory, per the official guidance — a distinct, platform-specific cause from the process-limit case.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Look for OS-level error messages that might give more information, per the official guidance.
  2. Retry the operation, per the official guidance — a transient process/resource limit may clear on its own.
  3. If the error recurs, contact the system administrator, per the official guidance, since a persistent inability to fork processes usually reflects a system-wide resource limit needing administrative attention.
  4. On DOS, exit to the OS command line and resubmit, per the official guidance's platform-specific note, if memory exhaustion is suspected.
Examples
Checking system process limits
$ ulimit -u
$ ps -ef | wc -l

Compare the current process count against the account's/system's configured process limit.

Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check OS-level error messages around the time of the failure.
  2. Check system process count against configured limits, if this recurs.
Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -826 in this set yet.

Retry first — a transient process/resource limit often clears on its own; escalate to the system administrator if it recurs.