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Informix Error -805: Cannot open file for load.

Cause and resolution

Cannot open file for load.

The input file that is specified in this LOAD statement could not be opened. Check the accompanying ISAM error code for more information. Possibly a more complete pathname is needed, the file does not exist, or your account does not have read permission for the file or a directory in which it resides.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-805 fires when LOAD's input file can't be opened — per the official guidance, three possibilities: an incomplete pathname, a nonexistent file, or a permissions problem on the file or a directory in its path.

  1. A relative pathname that doesn't resolve to the intended file from the server process's actual working directory, per the official guidance's "more complete pathname" note — LOAD file paths are resolved server-side, which can differ from the client's own working directory.
  2. The file genuinely not existing at the specified path, per the official guidance.
  3. Insufficient read permission on the file, or on a directory in its path, per the official guidance.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Check the accompanying ISAM error code, per the official guidance, for the specific underlying reason.
  2. Use a complete (absolute) pathname, per the official guidance, rather than a relative one that might resolve differently server-side than expected.
  3. Confirm the file exists at that path, from the database server's perspective, since LOAD reads the file on the server, not the client.
  4. Check read permission on the file and every directory in its path, for the server's OS user.
Examples
Using an absolute path
LOAD FROM '/full/path/to/orders_import.unl' INSERT INTO orders;

rather than a relative path that might not resolve to the intended file from the server's working directory.

Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the accompanying ISAM error code first, per the official guidance.
  2. Confirm the file's existence and permissions from the server's perspective, using an absolute path to avoid working-directory ambiguity.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -806 — "Cannot open file for unload." The mirror-image error, for UNLOAD's output file rather than LOAD's input file.
  • -802 — "Cannot open file for run." A related file-access error, for a SQL command file rather than a LOAD data file.

Use an absolute pathname — LOAD resolves the file server-side, which can differ from the client's own working directory.