Karmic upgrade removed postgresql-8.3

[slowtrain]

Binary package hint: postgresql-8.3

I had Postgresql 8.3 installed and then upgraded to 9.10 Karmic, which also installs postgresql 8.4. The software for 8.3 is still there and I can presumably start it up using boot-up manager or from the command line. Problem is, 8.3 cannot be started and I have data in 8.3 I need to get use. Also, because of a load of performance tweaks that I'd have to replicate with 8.4, I would rather simply be using 8.3 than moving to 8.4.

When I try either boot-up manager or the command line to start 8.3, I get no error messages (nothing in the postgresql main.log and nothing in the various system logs). The command line startup also gives no "OK" indicating a successful start (but no error either). And, "ps aux | grep post" shows no new postgres processes (unlike when I start 8.4), psql says it cannot connect to a server.

I tried purging all software associated with 8.4 from Synaptic, but 8.3 still will not work.

I gather there should be ways to get 8.3 and 8.4 both working (using postgresql-common), but imagine that can't be done unless I can actually start 8.3, which I no longer am able to do.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: amd64
Date: Wed Jan 13 16:19:19 2010
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
Package: postgresql-8.3 (not installed)
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-17.54-generic
SourcePackage: postgresql-8.3
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-17-generic x86_64

[slowtrain (pmuhl830)]

First, another frustration, then a solution, and then a complaint for the Ubuntu team:

The other frustration: I tried to update my cluster from 8.3 to 8.4, but it won't let me do so without 8.3 started up. So, now I'm really in a fix--seems there's no way to get my data back out of 8.3.

Solution: Turn off 8.4 using something like boot-up manager. Next, from the command line, issue this: sudo apt-get install postgresql-8.3 . This reinstalls 8.3, but doesn't mess with the 8.3 data. Now, 8.3 can be started up. It'll be possible to either continue using 8.3 or update cluster to 8.4. Ta da!

Complaint: Here's the bind the 9.10 upgrade puts postgresql users in: It apparently erases enough of 8.3 so it can't be started, but not so much that a non-expert user can tell, either from command line or boot-up manager, that 8.3 needs to be reinstalled (there's a warning during installation about 8.3, but I ignored that when boot-up manager let me turn 8.3 on and off). Also, when attempting to start 8.3, there are no error messages to tip the user off that anything is wrong. In addition, the fact that 8.3 has been partially removed means that data from 8.3 cannot be accessed and the data cluster can't be upgraded to the newly installed 8.4. 8.3 can't be reinstalled from Synaptic. I suspect many users won't think they can do so from apt-get. This is an unnecessary situation--I suspect 8.3 does not need to be uninstalled--that didn't occur in previous version upgrades.

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

Usually update-manager has some special cases to not remove postgresql-X.Y on upgrade, but this seems to have happened for you:

  Package: postgresql-8.3 (not installed)

Michael, does this special case need an update for 8.3/8.4?

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for update-manager (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]