Re: Some odd postgres errors.

Adam Bultman <adamb(at)iconideas(dot)com> writes:
> I've got a Postgres system version 7.1-1 on RH 6.2 here, and I'm getting
> a whole host of errors.

> There is an import program that runs daily from a group of CSV files
> uploaded to a server. Since monday, it's been having problems, and I
> can't find anything in the import files. Here are some of the errors
> below. Some are obvious (invalid float, etC) but the 'bits moved right
> off the end of the world' is worrisome, as is Invalid XID in t_cmin..

I would recommend running some memory and disk diagnostics. That
invalid XID error doesn't suggest anything but corrupted data to me.
Some of the other errors you quote look downright bizarre as well.
Hardware problems seem like a very plausible explanation for all.

> I've got myself and three others hunting down reasons, but to no avail
> yet. We are debating upgrading postgres, although that worries us to, as
> this is a production system.

You should definitely update to 7.1.3, or whatever the last of the 7.1
series was. We do not make dot-releases for entertainment value ---
if there's a dot-release later than what you have, it was put out to fix
significant bugs.

Updating to 7.2 or 7.3 series would be even better, but is significantly
more likely to create application compatibility issues (not to mention
that you'd need a dump and restore), so it's not quite such a no-brainer
decision.

regards, tom lane