Re: initdb problem

Joe Barwell <jbar(at)es(dot)co(dot)nz> writes:
> I get the same result trying to initdb after rebooting, the
> end of which is:
> /Library/PostgreSQL8/data/base/1 ... FATAL: could not
> create shared memory segment: Cannot allocate memory
> DETAIL: Failed system call was shmget(key=2, size=1646592,
> 03600).
> HINT: This error usually means that PostgreSQL's request
> for a shared memory segment exceeded available memory or
> swap space.

Hmph. That is definitely not a SHMMAX violation (you get "Invalid
argument" for that). AFAIK the only two causes are SHMALL violation
(which, since your SHMMAX and SHMALL are effectively the same, means
someone is already eating part of SHMALL); or that you actually have not
got enough RAM to allocate the shmem segment. Which does not seem real
probable, for a mere 1.6MB. So I'm thinking something somewhere is
allocating a shmem segment behind your back. Maybe those earlier
"failed" attempts actually did install a working Postgres server?
You should troll through the "ps" listing carefully.

We're really seriously handicapped here by not having ipcs handy :-(.
I wonder whether it is available anywhere for 10.3.9?

> Does the size=1646592 bit mean it's ignoring my
> /etc/sysctl.conf file?

Well, the sysctl -a thing prints out the active settings, and they
are more than that.

> Not even sure if a g4 will run 10.4.x, will it?

Certainly. I'm typing on one right now (g4 laptop actually). Heck,
I've got 10.4 running on a Cube upstairs. (Well, "run" might be
overly kind; the GUI is a bit sluggish due to lack of RAM. But it
works perfectly well as a server.)

regards, tom lane