SAP Basis: Transport System Problems and Solutions

Below is a list of common questions/problems and solutions when transporting objects between
systems.

Question/Problem	Solution
The tp command doesn't work. It always shows some error which I don't understand.	Make sure the environment is set up properly. See Troubleshooting Server Startup for details.
After releasing my change request, I can't find the transport files in the transport directory.	Make sure you released the request, as well as the tasks under it (the request is the part of the tree directly under the word "Transportable"). Check the action logs using SE09 for errors. If there were no errors, try re-transporting an object by changing it and creating a new request. Before releasing the task or request, go to SE09 and list the request. If the request is listed under "Local", it can NOT be transported to another system.
My change request is always local, but I want it to be transportable	The problem lies in either the workbench setup, the development class assigned to the objects you wish to transport, or both. Check the workbench setup with SE06->Display. Is your system set as a productive system? If so, change requests usually are not transportable. Try creating a new development class Z000, and choose any transport layer that the system allows you to choose (if your system does not allow you to choose any transport layers, then the workbench is not set up to allow any changes to be transportable). If it allows you to choose several layers, create on new class for each layer, and a new change request for each class. Then go to SE09 and check if your requests are transportable. If they are transportable, try to release one of the development classes (release the task and the request) and check that the files are created.
The system won't let me release a request because the the "target system is the same as the source system."	Click on the request, hit Shift+F6 (Change), and change the target system to a SID other than the source system. If your system won't let you change it to a SID that works, you are either trying to transport from the wrong system, or you need to redo your system landscape.
How do I redo the system landscape?	This should be done by a consultant during installation, and should not be changed after installation. If you really want to do it yourself, release all locked objects, log onto client 000 with DDIC, go to SE06, choose the landscape you want (usually 2- or 3-system group, and press Create. Tell the system which SIDs do which roles, and the rest is set up automatically.
I want to import objects into a system other than the one for which the transport files are targeted.	Use the override options. See the page on Transport System.
After using the override options, tp won't let me delete the request from the buffer.	Re-import the request, and then delete it from the buffer. If you cannot re-import (because, for instance, it is a very old request, and you do not know if re-importing will overwrite newer object), you can delete the entries directly from the file /usr/sap/trans/buffer/SID. This of course is not a "real" solution, but it does work (the "real" solution maybe would involve further editing of the E070, E071, or E070C tables, but I don't know).
I have created local objects in both the target system and the source system. Now I want to organize development and create objects only in the DEV system, and allow no direct changes to the target system. What do I do about the objects already created?	They need to be reassigned to a development class before they can be transported. Create a development class (or use an existing one) and test to make sure its objects can be exported and imported successfully.
How do I delete all the old change request/task clutter from my system.	If none of the tasks in the request have been released, the entire task/request can be deleted. Before deletion, however, you should check to make sure that the related objects are either changed back to the state they were in before the change that resulted in their being linked to the change request.
The system says that I have to release all locked objects before I can perform a certain task. How do I find out what objects are locked?	Look in the tables TLOCK, E070, E071, and E070C. Sometimes, data in these tables can become orphaned, and may need to be processed manually (this is rarely necessary).
What do I do with all these transport files?	You can backup and delete old transport files every once in a while. Directories to be backed up and deleted in the /usr/sap/trans directory include: data, cofiles, log, olddata, EPS/out, EPS/log, and put/*. Note that SAP-delivered files can be deleted without backup; this includes directories such as put/exe, put/tools, and EPS/in.
I have other problems that are not listed here	Read the SAP R/3 Handbook. Check the SAP Notes database. Write to SAP. Write