Re: migration with additional complications

Hi pg043g9j2g (or what's your name?),

> For various reasons I had to abandon that OS install and
> reformat/reinstall WinXP. Time passes... Today I am looking to recover
> my work and basically resume where I left off.
>
> One problem is that I never did an "export" of the old database using
> pg_dump or similar command. (pg_dump is how you're supposed to do it,
> right?) The DB exists in its most evolved form as simply a PostgreSQL
> database. I am not sure I will be able to "mount" the old database on
> its original PostgreSQL installation -- my backup of files from before I
> reformatted is just a "copy", not an "image." I don't think I can turn
> it into a bootable "snapshot" of my workstation from 1 year ago.
>
> I could go on about the bastardized techniques I have tried, but rather
> than spam up the list with that particular form of comedy entertainment,
> I'll just ask: how can I get this data into a new install of PostgreSQL?

If you've got a new PostgreSQL install, there should be a data directory
somewhere (I'm not so sure about Windows installations). It should
suffice to shut down the running instance, move away the fresh data dir
and copy your old database into the same place. Then start up the server
and see whether it complains about something in the log. If it starts
up, you're ready to go.

> Not sure the exact version I was using originally, but it was an 8.3
> variant, whatever was the current stable release at the time (was there
> a build on 3/17/08? That might be it.). Today I am using 8.3.7-1.

There should be a file PG_VERSION in the dbspace backup.

HTH,

Tino.

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