Re: Undead record haunts my database, need exorcism

Kevin Sterner <sterner(at)hep(dot)upenn(dot)edu> writes:
> My PostgreSQL 6.5.3 database is having a serious problem.

6.5.3? You are past due for an update ...

> Lately, however, the entries in "sets" and "dblock" have gotten badly out
> of joint. New records disappear, in "sets", while new records in "dblock"
> revert to old, deleted ones that can't be re-deleted.

Hmm. How large is your pg_log file? I suspect that you have suffered
transaction ID wraparound. If the pg_log file is 1Gb in size (enough
to store commit bits for 4 billion transactions) that would confirm the
suspicion.

Whether that's the problem or not, 6.5.3 is enough features and bugfixes
ago that I would wholeheartedly recommend an immediate update to 7.2.1.

regards, tom lane