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PostgreSQL 8.1

Posted by spicehead-q5pkx
PostgreSQL

Hi everyone !

I have to recover a database created under PostgreSQL 8.1 (Windows 2000 Professional) from a damaged pc but I have the PostgreSQL installation directory of that pc.
I want to install version 8.1 on a new pc in order to recover the database.
I searched all over the internet but I can't find PostgreSQL 8.1 for Windows.


Does anyone have this version? Or is there another solution to recover this database?

Spice (2) Reply (4)
spicehead-q5pkx

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4 Replies

  • Do you have an intact backup of the database produced by a pg_dump command or are you just working with the raw database files (such as from a salvaged drive)? I believe the plain-text backup format, which basically just spits out all the SQL commands to recreate the database and load the data, is forward compatible with all versions. Version 11 introduced breaking changes in the archive backup format, so you would have to install version 10 to restore to, which is the oldest version currently maintained.

    If you're working with just the raw database files... not sure of the best approach. You can try websites like oldversion.com (if you trust them). Postgres doesn't host compiled versions for Windows except for their Enterprise DB, so you won't find an official Windows installer that old. Safest approach would probably be to build from source, which might be easier on a Linux system. Is the end-goal to restore a legacy application to the same OS or are you just trying to salvage the data?

    1 found this helpful thumb_up thumb_down

  • The client didn't have any backup of the database. 

    That's why my idea was to install postgresql 8.1, connect to the database and make a backup in order to migrate that backup to a newer postgresql version.

    Now the only thing I have is the "C:/Program Files/Postgresql/8.1" folder with all the installed files in it.

    I have tried to start the pg_ctl.exe file and start Pgadmin to do the connection but pg_ctl.exe does nothing when I click on it.

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  • pg_ctl.exe requires some arguments to run, I only have a version 14 installation to look at. My windows service looks like this:

    Text
    "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\14\bin\pg_ctl.exe" runservice -N "postgresql-x64-14" -D "D:\Postgresql" -w

    The D- parameter specifies the data directory, which is often not the same as the installation directory. -N is just the windows service name, not needed. You'll want to open a command prompt to call pg_ctl.exe (don't double-click) so you can see any error output. Here's what the contents of the data directory will look like:

    Trying to run pg_ctl on a newer OS might fail for other reasons, it uses an older version of C++ and I'm not sure if that version used the .NET runtime or it's own runtime environment. I'm hitting the limits of my ignorance so you might want to post your question to the Postgres community.

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  • Hello Guys.
    Finally it worked.
    I found during researches that I should start pg_ctl.exe under cmd like this:

    "C:\Program Files (x86)\PostgreSQL\8.1\bin\pg_ctl.exe" start -D "C:\Program Files (x86)\PostgreSQL\8.1\data\"

    Finally I was able to access the database and make a backup.

    Thank you so much for the help provided.
    Spice (1) flagReport
    1 found this helpful thumb_up thumb_down

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