Moving PostgreSQL To Another Drive

In order to move the device over to another drive on the same machine there are just a few steps that you need to follow. We are going to stop the service, copy and paste the data folder to back it up, then uninstall and reinstall the data server to the new drive, and finally remove and replace the data folder into the new location.

Step 1 Get everyone out of SOAPware. Now we need to stop the service. Go to the Control Panel, then Administrative Tools, then Services. Look for Soapware PostgreSql Database Server 8.2...or 8.3. Right click on the service and click Stop.

Step 2 Once the service is stopped then we need to make a copy of the data folder. By default, this will be located under C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.2...or 8.3. You may have installed it to a different location, if so, you need to go to this location to find the data folder. Once you see it, right click on the data folder and click Copy.

Then go to a new location (your desktop, My Documents, C:\, etc), and go to Edit, Paste. It should begin copying the files and folders to this new location. When it finishes, go to Step 3.

NOTE: DO NOT uninstall PostgreSQL (step 3) before you have copied out the data folder from Step 1 of this article.

Step 3 Now we need to uninstall PostgreSQL from the server. To do this go to the Control Panel, then Add or Remove Programs and it should be listed as PostgreSQL 8.2...or 8.3. Click on that and then click remove. At the end of the process of removing PostgreSQL it will throw two errors, one of which says that its a fatal error. You can ignore both of those errors and close Add/Remove Programs. PostgreSQL should no longer be listed in Add/Remove Programs.

Step 4 Reinstall the database PostgreSQL on the computer. Either use the dataserver installer you originally used with SOAPware, or you can download it.

NOTE: Whatever version of PostgreSQL you had previously installed, whether it be 8.2 or 8.3, needs to be the version that you reinstall

If your service was named 8.2, then use this link:

http://soapware5dataserver.s3.amazonaws.com/SOAPware5DataServerInstaller.exe

If your service was named 8.3, then use this link:

http://official-releases.s3.amazonaws.com/2008%20Database%20Installer/SetupSWDbs2008.exe

For help with installing PostgreSQL, follow the instructions here http://soapedia.mysoapware.com/010._Introduction_Guides/1_-_SOAPware_Installation_Booklet/1_-_Installing_the_SOAPware_DataServer.

You will change the database location in Step 4 of the article above. You need to click Browse and browse to the drive and location where you want your data.

Then click next to move on to the next dialog screen. In both steps 5 it and 6 you will need to use the same password that was used when PostgreSQL was previously installed. If a soapware support technician installed the program for you then the password should be soapware, soapware1, or soapware1234_x. If you put in the wrong password it will give you an error saying that is incorrect. If you do not remember your password and cannot figure it out, then you can call soapware support and they can help you reset the password.

Step 4 Once PostgreSQL is installed and set up, stop the service again for Soapware PostgreSQL Database Server 8.2...8.3 like we did in Step 1. Then, go to the new location of the database and delete the data folder there. Once you have deleted that, we will just need to cut/copy that data folder that we copied out in  Step 1 and paste it in the new database location, D:\Program Files\PostgreSQL 8.2...or 8.3\ or wherever it is. Once that is finished, restart the service for Soapware PostgreSQL Database Server 8.2...or 8.3 which should again be located under start>control panel>administrative tools>services. Once the service is started then you should be all set. Everyone can then get back into soapware at this point.

If you have any additional questions or need help with this process, you can email us at support@soapware.com or call us at 1-800-455-7627 and dial extension 3.