PostgreSQL on Windows not starting

Chris Travers wrote:

I have a customer who is having issues starting PostgreSQL 8.1 on
Windows. It worked for a while and now doesn't appear to be running.
I thought it was probably a stale pidfile, but had him search and
could not find it. Is the pid information still in a pidfile or is it
in the registry somewhere on Windows? I am suggesting that he try to
start the service manually and look for error messages. But in the
mean time I thought I would ask.

Best Wishes,
Chris Travers
Metatron Technology Consulting

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Possile reason I hit a while ago was the account that was created for
the PostgreSQL service was set to need a PWD change at login and so the
service would not start, I was looking in all sorts of other areas
before I spotted it, I think it was due to some domain policy as I had
not seen it before or since. Or perhaps the account pwd is set to expire.

Oisin

Chris,

i dove through all sorts of pain with windows security and PostgreSQL
services while postgresql on win32 was in beta. Even deployed some big
application to > 30 computers installing win32 PostgreSQL in beta. So, some
areas where I had things to learn:

1.) group policies.
On win32 computers within a domain, as a local administrator you are quite
able to create (local) users with all sort of privileges; esp. if you do it
via the api and not with GUI tools from MS.
Group Policies will NOT interfer with the creation of a user that is outside
the policie! ... but it will silently roll his priviliges back to "normal",
whatever "normal" is in that domain.

Most common error: the PostgreSQL service user needs the "logon as service"
privilege. No normal user needs it, so most "normal user" policies (esp. the
default by Microsoft) strips this privilege. On a "random time basis" -
that is, not with every logon, but every 2 to 7 days. Have fun with bug
hunting!

2.) Problems in the field of sockets
PostgreSQL spawns (or forks?) a new process to deal with every connection.
The master has to pass an open connection socket to this child. SOME

- firewalls
- voice over ip
- adult service USB tokens
- viral scanners
- computer telephony integration software

screw up the Windows tcp/ip stack. We spend some nights in repairing ( that
is: me crying and testing, Magnus patching and compiling) the "passing of
sockets even if the tcp/ip stack is screwed"; but maybe, even maybe your
customer found a new way to destroy it?

3.) read the event log
4.) read the log in data/pg_log

Best wishes

Harald

--
GHUM Harald Massa
persuadere et programmare
Harald Armin Massa
Reinsburgstraße 202b
70197 Stuttgart
0173/9409607
-
PostreSQL - works as documented

I have a customer who is having issues starting PostgreSQL
8.1 on Windows. It worked for a while and now doesn't appear
to be running. I thought it was probably a stale pidfile,
but had him search and could not find it. Is the pid
information still in a pidfile or is it in the registry
somewhere on Windows? I am suggesting that he try to start
the service manually and look for error messages. But in the
mean time I thought I would ask.

PID file is still used, but I beleive most issues with that one has been
solved by now. And if that is your problem, it should show up fine in
the error messags. Just remember to check all locations (startup
messages go in the eventlog, but if you're using the standard config
once postgresql.conf is loaded the rest of the mesages go in the pg_log
directory)

//Magnus