Re: Can't reinstall b/c don't know the very long installation password

["Derek Hopkins" <derek(dot)hopkins(at)nisc(dot)coop>]

You can also go into the pg_hba.conf file, and at the bottom put a #
sign in front of host and then instead of the method set to 'md5', put
'trust'.  This will allow you to login without a password, and then you
can reset it. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Marlowe [mailto:scott(dot)marlowe(at)gmail(dot)com] 
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2008 12:02 PM
To: LaRue, Patricia
Cc: pgsql-admin(at)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Re: Can't reinstall b/c don't know the very long installation
password

On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 8:41 AM, LaRue, Patricia
<Patricia(dot)LaRue(at)avocent(dot)com> wrote:
> Experts:
>
>
>
> I installed PostgreSQL and created the initial "very long" password
and
> wrote it down.  Someone else did something to change it and now
neither one
> of us can log into the DB.  So I tried to uninstall and reinstall but
my
> "very long" password is not recognized and without it I cannot
complete the
> installation.  I even tried removing all PostgreSQL stuff from the
registry.
>  Does anyone know how I can blow away wherever that password is
located and
> start fresh?

Two ways to do this.

1: log in in single user mode.  To do so, shut down the db, then use
the postgres command to bring up the db in single user mode, like so:

postgres -D /my/data/dir --single

and then issue the command to change the password.

OR

2: change pg_hba.conf to trust on some known IP, hup the server
(pg_ctl -D /my/data/dir reload) and then log in as postgres and change
your password.