Thread: pg_ctl.exe deleted on abrupt shutdown of Windows

On 12/15/20 2:44 AM, Joel Mariadasan (jomariad) wrote:
> Team,
> 
> After abrupt shutdown of Windows, we are seeing the pg_ctl.exe file 
> getting deleted automatically.
> 
> Due to this Postgres service cannot be started and need to be re-installed.
> 
> We have checked the antivirus and confirmed that it didn’t delete the file.
> 
> Can you let us know if anyone has observed the file getting deleted upon 
> abrupt shutdown of Windows?

What is causing the shutdown?

> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Joel
> 


-- 
Adrian Klaver
adrian.klaver@aklaver.com

On 12/15/20 4:44 AM, Joel Mariadasan (jomariad) wrote:

Team,

 

After abrupt shutdown of Windows, we are seeing the pg_ctl.exe file getting deleted automatically.

Maybe English is your second language, but "we are seeing" means that Windows regularly shuts down, and deletes pg_ctl.exe every time.  Therefore, you must be reinstalling pg_ctl.exe every time.

Due to this Postgres service cannot be started and need to be re-installed.

 

We have checked the antivirus and confirmed that it didn’t delete the file.

Can you let us know if anyone has observed the file getting deleted upon abrupt shutdown of Windows?

Only pg_ctl.exe gets deleted?  Anyway, there's nothing in Postgres that says "delete pg_ctl.exe on startup".

This smells strongly of filesystem corruption which requires a Windows guru.

On Tue, 2020-12-15 at 10:00 -0600, Ron wrote:
> > After abrupt shutdown of Windows, we are seeing the pg_ctl.exe file getting deleted automatically.
>  
> Only pg_ctl.exe gets deleted?  Anyway, there's nothing in Postgres that says "delete pg_ctl.exe on startup".
> This smells strongly of filesystem corruption which requires a Windows guru.

Not that I am one, but this smacks of anti-virus software that mistakenly
thinks "pg_ctl.exe" is malware and removes or "isolates" it.

Yours,
Laurenz Albe
-- 
Cybertec | https://www.cybertec-postgresql.com

On 12/15/20 11:26 AM, Laurenz Albe wrote:
> On Tue, 2020-12-15 at 10:00 -0600, Ron wrote:
>>> After abrupt shutdown of Windows, we are seeing the pg_ctl.exe file getting deleted automatically.
>>   
>> Only pg_ctl.exe gets deleted?  Anyway, there's nothing in Postgres that says "delete pg_ctl.exe on startup".
>> This smells strongly of filesystem corruption which requires a Windows guru.
> Not that I am one, but this smacks of anti-virus software that mistakenly
> thinks "pg_ctl.exe" is malware and removes or "isolates" it.

OP mentioned that they checked that AV didn't "delete" the file. Nothing 
about quarantine, though.

-- 
Angular momentum makes the world go 'round.

Hi,

> On 15. Dec, 2020, at 18:37, Ron <ronljohnsonjr@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 12/15/20 11:26 AM, Laurenz Albe wrote:
>> On Tue, 2020-12-15 at 10:00 -0600, Ron wrote:
>>>> After abrupt shutdown of Windows, we are seeing the pg_ctl.exe file getting deleted automatically.
>>>  Only pg_ctl.exe gets deleted?  Anyway, there's nothing in Postgres that says "delete pg_ctl.exe on startup".
>>> This smells strongly of filesystem corruption which requires a Windows guru.
>> Not that I am one, but this smacks of anti-virus software that mistakenly
>> thinks "pg_ctl.exe" is malware and removes or "isolates" it.
>
> OP mentioned that they checked that AV didn't "delete" the file. Nothing about quarantine, though.

I'm no Windows guru either, but AFAIK, some AV software moves "infected" files some place else, i.e. out of the bin
directory.That means, could it be possible that it's "deleted" from the bin directory, but be put somewhere else in a
quarantinedirectory? 

A "dir /s" or something like that may help.

And what does "shutdown" mean? Stop of the service, or proper shutdown of Windows, or sudden power-off? Or losing a
networkdrive which the PostgreSQL software resides on and hence killing the running database, or what does "shutdown"
meanin this context? What is an "*abrupt* shutdown"? 

Just a thought. There's probably not much to speculate on unless there are more details.

Cheers,
Paul