Thread: ERROR: AllocSetFree: cannot find block containing chunk 507928

When I connect to this database with psql, and type \z to see a list of tables, I get the error

        ERROR:  AllocSetFree: cannot find block containing chunk 507928

When I try to dump the database, I get this error:

        pg_dump: query to obtain list of tables failed: ERROR:  AllocSetFree: cannot find block containing chunk 51d158

I am running 7.2.1 on Solaris 8.

What do I need to do to recover this database?

Thanks,

Edwin New

Edwin New <edwin_new@toll.com.au> writes:
> When I connect to this database with psql, and type \z to see a list of
> tables, I get the error
>     ERROR:  AllocSetFree: cannot find block containing chunk 507928

I'm guessing you have some sort of data-corruption problem in the system
catalogs, probably in pg_class.  Do you get a similar error if you say
"SELECT * FROM pg_class"?  If so, try to narrow down exactly which value
causes the problem --- for instance, try selecting one column at a time
to see which column the trouble is in.

> I am running 7.2.1 on Solaris 8.

Of course you know you should be running something newer ;-).  But a
quick look through the CVS logs does not reveal anything that looks
related in later 7.2.* fixes, so an in-place update probably won't
solve your immediate problem.

            regards, tom lane