PostGre SQL not starting up automatically

[keggler]

Get procmon (from sysinternals), fire it up when you get the postgres problem, make a note of the postgres process ID (PID) from windows task manager, filter the procmon to this PID, scroll down to the bottom and look for any folders/registry keys this PID is trying to access.

The path and result columns in procmon should give you the clue as to the offending item...

If it turns out to be the path of a completely different app, this is the culprit that's holding the lock that's preventing postgres from starting - that app needs to be disabled, uninstalled or updated so it does not conflict with the postgres service.

susan

[bugsbunny]

in the services snap-in, have you got a path to the executable that looks something like this:

"C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.3\bin\pg_ctl.exe" runservice -w -N "pgsql-8.3" -D "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.3\data\"

also, is there anything in the Windows event log that might indicate the services starts at boot, then gets stopped [by something]?

Yup, I do . . . after a few re-boots and paying closer attention, I'm now thinking PostGre is actually set up right, as it does start up about half the time . . . the other times, some other app must be interfering with it, but I haven't been able to figure out what might be the culprit. If I do figure that out, I'll update this post, as someone else might be having the same issue. . . .

First guess would be an anti-virus app. Postgres folders should be excluded from any anti-virus.