33. FAQ - Installation Questions

33.1 Initdb doesn't run

* check to see that you have the proper paths set * check that the 'postgres' user owns all the right files * ensure that there are files in $ PGDATA/files, and that they are non-empty. If they aren't, then "gmake install" failed for some reason

33.2 When I start up the postmaster, I get "FindBackend- could not find a backend to execute..." "postmaster- could not find backend to execute..."

You probably do not have the right path set up. The 'postgres' executable needs to be in your path.

33.3 The system seems to be confused about commas, decimal points, and date formats.

Check your locale configuration. PostgreSQL uses the locale settings of the user that ran the postmaster process. Set those accordingly for your operating environment.

33.4 How do I install PostgreSQL somewhere other than /usr/local/pgsql?

You need to edit Makefile.global and change POSTGRESDIR accordingly, or create a Makefile.custom and define POSTGRESDIR there.

33.5 When I run postmaster, I get a Bad System Call core dumped message.

It could be a variety of problems, but first check to see that you have system V extensions installed on your kernel. PostgreSQL requires kernel support for shared memory.

33.6 When I try to start the postmaster, I get IpcMemoryCreate errors.

You either do not have shared memory configured properly in kernel or you need to enlarge the shared memory available in the kernel. The exact amount you need depends on your architecture and how many buffers you configure postmaster to run with. For most systems, with default buffer sizes, you need a minimum of ~ 760K.

33.7 I have changed a source file, but a recompile does not see the change?

The Makefiles do not have the proper dependencies for include files. You have to do a 'make clean' and then another 'make'.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------