POSTGRES Standard Server 8.4.1 freezes MAC OS X Leopard 10.5.8.

5 days ago I installed the latest version of POSTGRESQL Standard Server available for MAC OS X Leopard (package "postgresql-8.4.1-2-osx.dmg"). Since then I have experienced frequent freezes of my laptop always within the first 1 or 2 hours of usage - the only way to escape out of these freezes was to power off the laptop without shutting down first. Once I uninstalled the software everything went back to normal.

Has anybody else experienced similar symptoms with this particular combination? Do I have to do something special in order to get past this problem?

TIA,
Panos Tsapralis.

Hello,

Anything peculiar in the /var/log/system.log?
What components you installed from the Standard Server?
Is it you are doing anything specific when the system freezes?
What happens if you shut down the database service (sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.edb.launchd.postgresql-8.4.plist) ?

Sachin, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I have already uninstalled the software from my laptop - so, I cannot tell you what would happen if I switched off the server (I suppose freezing would go away...). Nothing particular mentioned in the system log - I have been running some rather simple SQL queries (with DISTINCT / GROUP-BY clauses) on a small set of tables in the rang of 1 to 2 millions of records per table. In at least one case, freezing occurred while I was doing nothing particular on the POSTGRESQL server (I was simply browsing the Internet...).

However, I am thinking of re-installing some older, more tested version (for example, package "postgresql-8.3.8-2-osx.dmg") and then see what happens...

Panos.

I have just noticed that version 8.3.8 of the server is accompanied by a README file which mentions some special shared memory configuration for MAC OS X. I did not apply this recommendation while installing 8.4.1 5 days ago - did the "one-click" installer take care of this automatically? If not, could this be the source of my problem?

Panos_T wrote:I have just noticed that version 8.3.8 of the server is accompanied by a README file which mentions some special shared memory configuration for MAC OS X. I did not apply this recommendation while installing 8.4.1 5 days ago - did the "one-click" installer take care of this automatically? If not, could this be the source of my problem?

It very well could be, I don't believe the 1-click does that for you.

Also, what are the specs of your mac? Did you run the tuning wizard?

My new POSTGRESQL 8.3.8 installation has been working flawlessly for the last 12 hours or so (no 1-click installer, no addons, etc. - I only applied the kernel memory configuration of the README file) - it seems that the freezing problem isn't here anymore. I am going to experiment a bit by reverting the kernel memory configuration to its original settings and then see what happens. Then I am going to use the 1-click installer for adding some options (namely the migration assistants and the job scheduler).

FWIW, my MBP has a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4 GB of main memory, 200 GB of hard disk drive space and MAC OS X Leopard 10.5.8.

Panos.

Hello,

FYI, The one-click installer for postgresql 8.4 does change the shared memory configurations on its own and if you notice, there is a README file included in it also.

And from where did you install the postgresql-8.3.8? as we also maintain the 8.3.8 installer for mac the (dmg file) and that is also called One-Click installer.

and that too change the shared memory configration on its own The README is for reference.

Hi, I installed the package "postgresql-8.3.8-2-osx.dmg". At the end I was asked whether I want to execute the STACKBUILDER application - I answered "No" (I can now see it in the "/Library/PosrgreSQL/8.3/" directory).

Hello,

Yes, thats the installer that is maintained by us and is also called one-click installer for postgresql 8.3

BTW, we have just released latest installers for postgresql-8.4.2 and postgresql-8.3.9, You can give them a go and see if that works for you too.

Thanks for the info. I would like to try once more to go to the latest version (without the freezes...). I wonder whether it is possible to stop the 8.3.8 server (disable the auto-start feature in MACOSX) and install 8.4.2 in parallel (without uninstalling 8.3.

. Are there any "hidden" interdependencies or other interferences between the 2 versions if they coexist in parallel on the same machine?

Panos.