Re: BUG #3343: Passwords not working

Richard Carter wrote:

Please don't remove the list from the CC list, as others may want to
learn from the information.

Also, please quote your email properly. Not indenting the original email
makes it almost impossible to determine which parts of the mail was
written by you, and which parts were written by me (or anybody else, for
that matter).

>> The following bug has been logged online:
>>
>> Bug reference: 3343
>> Logged by: Richard
>> Email address: richard(at)uniquelyrichard(dot)com
>> PostgreSQL version: 8.2.4-1
>> Operating system: Win2K SP6
>
> Where did you find that? Given that SP4 is the latest version that Microsoft
> has released...
>
> Typo; probably due to frustration and fatique of
> installing/deinstalling/cleaning reistry 4 times.

Ok. Assuming you're on SP4, you should be fine. If you're on <SP4, you
should upgrade to SP4.

>> Description: Passwords not working
>> Details:
>>
>> New to PG. Using it on W2k test platform, for test of OpenBravo ERP.
>> Installed (for fourth time) using default settings. Computer is a
>> standalone, running in workgroup mode. Install appeared to go well.
>> However,
>> 1) When I install OpenBravo and provide password for Superuser account, I
>> get an error message that PG cannot validate. I go to pgAdminIII, and it
> all
>> looks good.
>
> This sounds like a problem in OpenBravo, for which you should probably talk
> to the OpenBravo people. Since pgAdmin works, obviously the pg server can
> authenticated properly.
>
> Already have, waiting for response.

Good.

>> 3) When I try to create a new user, it will not authenticate.
>
> With what error?
>
> (I'd love to cut/paste it for you, but this is the first time in 20 years of
> NT admin work that I've ever had a command prompt window that won't do so.)

Huh? *Any* command prompt windows on NT can do copy/paste. Oh, and NT
has only been around for 14 years. (Actually, there were some issues
with copy/paste on the commandprompt in NT 3.1, if I'm not mistaken. I
*think* they were fixed in 3.51, but it may have been in NT4)

> So, in long hand:
>
> Active code page: 1252
> <command prompt> createuser xxxxx
> Shall the new user be a Superuser? <y>
> Createuser: could not connect to database postgres: FATAL: password
> authentication failed for user "richard".

Assuming you haven't created a user "richard" that's your problem -
you're logging in with the wrong username.

>> 4) In the cases when it will NOT authenticate due to password, PG
>> identifies me as my OS log-on, not the Superuser or the Account Name
>> from install. OS Services shows PG (running as a service) is running.
>> I've re-cycled it a couple of times.
>
> That's a client-side problem. Pg clients will by default attempt to log you
> in with whatever you're logged in to windows with. If you want to change
> that, you need to tell the program you're using. For psql, for example, use
> the -U parameter. (see psql -? for information about other parameters)
>
> Read your entry, second sentence. I need to tell the program I'm using
> <what>? It's an incomplete sentence. I don't know what you're trying to
> tell me.

Right, I see that now. Typo from my side as well, sorry about that. But
if you bothered reading the help page as I suggested, it would be
glaringly obvious how you should use it. But let me copy/paste from the
help message to make your life easier:
-U NAME database user name (default: "maghag")

(the default value being context sensitive, so it'll say "richard" on
your system)

So, my sentence should read:
"If you want to change that, you need to tell the program what user
you're using".

Assuming you used the default superuser name of "postgres", it should be
fairly obvious (once you know about the -U parameter) that you should run:
psql -U postgres

> (Why is it -nix based IT people absolutely refuse to use standard English
> writing rules?

Huh? Where did you get that from? I spend m days managing windows
networks for about 12,000 users, so I'm hardly a -nix based IT person.
Sure, that's not a particularly large network, and I run some Unix on it
as well (majority is windows), but it has at least taught me simple
things like reading the documentation or not being rude when asking for
help.

But I can provide it to you in Swedish if you want. Or if you have other
language preferences, we can easily find people to give you such a
simple answer in at least 20 different languages on these lists. But we
can't guarantee against simple typos, of course.

Surprising how little understanding you have for someone making the same
mistake you did yourself.

> Do you know how much they have set the entire platform back
> in implimentation, simply because the knowledge they have isn't
> understandable when written about? And therefore, the millions of users who
> would love to move off of Windows, out of frustration, simply walk away from
> Linux and all the apps developed from it?)

What does Linux have to do with anything here? Sure, PostgreSQL runs on
Linux, but it runs on a whole lot of other platforms as well.

> Please, if you have any sway with the PG development community, get them to
> start writing docs focused on the audience that DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THEY KNOW.
> IT'S WHY WE READ THE DOCS. BUT IF THEY ARE WRITTEN ONLY FOR THOSE WHO
> ALREADY KNOW THE CONTENT, WHAT'S THE SENSE?)

Sure, *everybody* on these lists have "sway" with the PG development
community. We *are* the PG development community.

And if you have some specific suggestions on what to change, please
forward it in a reasonably way (preferably a patch, but just a paragraph
of what to change is fine and someone else can create the patch from it)
and we'll be happy to include that in the next version.

On these lists, and in our IRC channel, there are hundreds of people who
offer their help for free. They solve a lot of problems for a lot of
people every day, and in my experience do so both faster and better than
most commercial offerings you'll find around. But if you approach the
community by being rude and insulting, you're not going to get a lot of
help. There are commercial support companies around (see listing on our
website for example) who I'm sure will be happy to take your money in
exchange for letting you yell at them, but don't expect people giving
out help *for free in their spare time* to care when you take this approach.

Talked to the right way, these people can and will solve almost anything
for you. Do it your way, and you'll get nowhere. Your choice.

//Magnus