Re: Moving the data directory

Sairam Krishnamurthy wrote:
> I am using Ubuntu 10.04 and Postgres 8.4, I have been trying to move
> my data dir to another device for the past couple of days but ran into
> a lot of problems.
>
> I did the following:
>
> 1. Copy the contents of /var/lib/postgresql/8.4/main to my folder.
> 2. Changed the data_directory in postgresql.conf.
>
> When I start postgres using /etc/init.d script I get the following error,
>
> * Starting PostgreSQL 8.4 database server
>  * Error: could not exec /usr/lib/postgresql/8.4/bin/pg_ctl
> /usr/lib/postgresql/8.4/bin/pg_ctl start -D
> /media/extension/var/lib/postgresql/8.4/main/ -l
> /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-8.4-main.log -s -o  -c
> config_file="/etc/postgresql/8.4/main/postgresql.conf" :
>

Debian and Ubuntu installations have a unique feature where you can have
multiple PostgreSQL installations installed at the same time.
Accordingly, the standard ways of managing the database described in the
regular PostgreSQL documentation don't always work.  See
http://www.stuartellis.eu/articles/postgresql-setup/ for a quick intro
to this, specifically the "Using Multiple PostgreSQL Clusters" section.
What you may need to change here is not the database's postgresql.conf,
but instead the database cluster list you see when running pg_lsclusters.

--
Greg Smith   2ndQuadrant US    greg@2ndQuadrant.com   Baltimore, MD
PostgreSQL Training, Services, and 24x7 Support  www.2ndQuadrant.us
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