Note:
For UNIX or Linux, the platform-specific default location (directory) for the SPFILE and text initialization parameter file is:

$ORACLE_HOME/dbs


For Windows NT and Windows 2000 the location is:

%ORACLE_HOME%\database

In the platform-specific default location, Oracle Database locates your initialization parameter file by examining filenames in the following order:

1.

spfile$ORACLE_SID.ora
2.

spfile.ora
3.

init$ORACLE_SID.ora

The first two filenames represent SPFILEs and the third represents a text initialization parameter file.