Re: Read db files directly

Thanks Jeff!

No, cannot do that.
Because the folder has only the "oid" files.
Don't know that to call them.
All file names are numbers.
Except the three following:
pg_internal.init
pgsql_tmp (empty folder)
PG_VERSION

/seagate400/1061329089 is the actual location
of those 50 GB worth of files.
I have a symlink like so:
/var/lib/pgsql/data/base/1061329089
->
/seagate400/1061329089
Restarted many times.

--- Jeff Frost <jeff(at)frostconsultingllc(dot)com> wrote:

> So what are the two locations in question? Is one
> /var/lib/pgsql/data and
> another one /usr/local/pgsql/data by chance?
>
> You can start another instance of postmaster in that
> directory by using:
>
> pg_ctl -D <path to data directory> start
>
> example:
>
> pg_ctl -D /usr/local/pgsql/data start
>
> If you do a ps -ef | grep data, you should probably
> see something like:
>
> postgres 20991 1 4 13:33 pts/13 00:00:00
> /usr/bin/postmaster -p 5432 -D
> /var/lib/pgsql/data
>
> which would tell you that the current instance of
> postgres is running in
> /var/lib/pgsql/data and you need to start the other
> one up to see what's in
> the other location.
>
> On Fri, 28 Jul 2006, Mingzuo Shen wrote:
>
> > Thanks Scott.
> > That is a much clearer way of putting it.
> > That old PostgreSQL runs just fine,
> > in one place, but I have 50 GB of files in
> > another place. PostgreSQL is not reading it.
> > How can I persuade this PostgreSQL,
> > or any PostgeSQL, to read that 50 GB of files.
> > Or any independent tool to read the files.
> >
> > Tom Lane mentioned "vacuum".
> > If only I knew the database name,
> > I could try "psql dbname".
> > But I don't know the database name either.
> > I did run "vacuum" in my new testdb.
> >
> > Yeah. I guess the previous DBA put those files
> > on a different file system,
> > and then forgot about them, probably with
> > good reason. But as I said, the previous DBA
> > is no longer available.
> >
> > Imagine I send just those files to you,
> > and you try to get some text out of them.
> > I do not have the SQL used to create
> > the tables, no table structures.
> >
> >
> >
> > --- Scott Marlowe <smarlowe(at)g2switchworks(dot)com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> It sounds like the current postgresql is running
> in
> >> one directory, and
> >> you're looking in another directory. If you can
> see
> >> how postgresql was
> >> started, does it have a -D switch that shows the
> >> directory? My guess is
> >> you could chmod 000 the master directory you're
> >> looking at right now and
> >> postgresql could still startup, because it's not
> >> where you think it is.
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------(end of
> broadcast)---------------------------
> > TIP 3: Have you checked our extensive FAQ?
> >
> > http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faq
> >
> >
>
> --
> Jeff Frost, Owner <jeff(at)frostconsultingllc(dot)com>
> Frost Consulting, LLC
> http://www.frostconsultingllc.com/
> Phone: 650-780-7908 FAX: 650-649-1954
>