Corrupted database - how to recover

From: Johann Spies <jspies(at)sun(dot)ac(dot)za>
To: pgsql-admin(at)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Corrupted database - how to recover
Date: 2010-05-27 07:34:04
Message-ID: 20100527073404.GA32267@sun.ac.za
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After two disks on our raid-5 system failed causing a filesystem
failure.

We could get one online again and the filesystem is at present usable
but I cannot start postgresql at the moment:

$ /usr/lib/postgresql/8.3/bin/postgres --single -D /etc/postgresql/8.3/main/
2010-05-27 09:22:48 SAST FATAL: could not stat directory "base/16400": Structure needs cleaning
2010-05-27 09:22:48 SAST CONTEXT: xlog redo insert: rel 1663/16400/16438; tid 10960/41

in 'base' I see

drwx------ 10 postgres postgres 102 2010-04-22 15:09 .
drwx------ 10 postgres postgres 4096 2010-05-27 09:29 ..
drwx------ 2 postgres postgres 4096 2010-05-20 02:11 1
drwx------ 2 postgres postgres 4096 2010-04-22 15:07 11510
?????????? ? ? ? ? ? 16388
drwx------ 2 postgres postgres 4096 2010-05-20 02:11 16389
drwx------ 2 postgres postgres 4096 2010-05-20 02:11 16390
drwx------ 2 postgres postgres 4096 2010-05-20 02:11 16391
?????????? ? ? ? ? ? 16400

I can just move the data-directory, do an initdb and use an older dump
to repair the database as it was some time ago. Fortunately the data is
not mission critical. But what if it was.

How do I recover from a situation like this?

Regards
Johann
--
Johann Spies Telefoon: 021-808 4599
Informasietegnologie, Universiteit van Stellenbosch

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and
him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
John 6:37

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