Thread: Cannot start Postgres : invalid data in PID file
Problem: Cannot start Postgres Platform: Postgres 8.3, Windows Vista Home Error Message: pg_ctl: invalid data in PID file "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.3/data/postmaster.pid" I run postgres on Windows Vista Home Edition. It normally runs as a service but is not starting. I created a command line instruction by copying the data from Windows service GUI and changing "runservice" to "start". Under the command line it produces the following: C:\Users\Daron>"C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.3/bin/pg_ctl.exe" start -N "postgr esql-8.3" -D "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.3/data" -w pg_ctl: invalid data in PID file "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.3/data/postmaste r.pid" Entering "type postmaster.pid" in the appropriate directory produces a couple of blank lines. I thought of trying to delete the PID file but I am not sure if it may cause further problems. Can anyone help? Regards, Daron.
On 04/14/11 1:01 AM, Daron Ryan wrote: > Problem: Cannot start Postgres > Platform: Postgres 8.3, Windows Vista Home > Error Message: pg_ctl: invalid data in PID file "C:/Program > Files/PostgreSQL/8.3/data/postmaster.pid" > > I run postgres on Windows Vista Home Edition. It normally runs as a > service but is not starting. I created a command line instruction by > copying the data from Windows service GUI and changing "runservice" to > "start". Under the command line it produces the following: > > C:\Users\Daron>"C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.3/bin/pg_ctl.exe" start > -N "postgr > esql-8.3" -D "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.3/data" -w > pg_ctl: invalid data in PID file "C:/Program > Files/PostgreSQL/8.3/data/postmaste > r.pid" > > Entering "type postmaster.pid" in the appropriate directory produces a > couple of blank lines. > > I thought of trying to delete the PID file but I am not sure if it may > cause further problems. as long as you can ensure that the server is not running, its perfectly safe to delete the PID file.
The postmaster.pid file shows the pid of the postmaster. The file shouldn't exist when the postmaster isn't running, so it should be safe to delete. Its presence does indicate that postgres was improperly shutdown though. -- Peter Geoghegan http://www.2ndQuadrant.com/ PostgreSQL Development, 24x7 Support, Training and Services