you have a data directory alredy?
try to use another directory
$ mkdir /usr/local/pgsql/data2
$ chown postgres:postgres /usr/local/pgsql/data2
$ initdb -D /usr/local/pgsql/data2
--- On Thu, 5/7/09, Jan Muhammad <janmuhd@yahoo.com> wrote:
> From: Jan Muhammad <janmuhd@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [ADMIN] How to run PostgreSQL?
> To: "Ray Stell" <stellr@cns.vt.edu>
> Cc: pgsql-admin@postgresql.org
> Date: Thursday, May 7, 2009, 3:19 PM
> Hi,
>
> Yes I had done that step prior to writing on group. But now
> if I try to re-run I get the following error:
>
> [postgres@callisto local]$ initdb -D /usr/local/pgsql/data
>
> The files belonging to this database system will be owned
> by user "postgres".
> This user must also own the server process.
>
> The database cluster will be initialized with locale
> en_US.UTF-8.
> The default database encoding has accordingly been set to
> UTF8.
>
> initdb: directory "/usr/local/pgsql/data" exists
> but is not empty
> If you want to create a new database system, either remove
> or empty
> the directory "/usr/local/pgsql/data" or run
> initdb
> with an argument other than
> "/usr/local/pgsql/data"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Wonder what step I have missed?
>
> -Jan Muhammad
>
>
> --- On Thu, 5/7/09, Ray Stell <stellr@cns.vt.edu>
> wrote:
>
> From: Ray Stell <stellr@cns.vt.edu>
> Subject: Re: [ADMIN] How to run PostgreSQL?
> To: "Jan Muhammad" <janmuhd@yahoo.com>
> Cc: pgsql-admin@postgresql.org
> Date: Thursday, May 7, 2009, 5:26 PM
>
>
> -----Inline Attachment Follows-----
>
> On Thu, May 07, 2009 at 04:38:59AM -0700, Jan Muhammad
> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I have just downloaded, installed/configured
> postgresql version 8.2.11 on Fedora Core 6. While reading
> through the installation manual have setup most of its
> parts; now while trying to run datebase server with the
> command:??
> > $ postmaster -D /usr/local/pgsql/data
>
>
> did you do initdb?
> http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.2/interactive/creating-cluster.html