Thanks to all who replied, and all apologies for the multiple posting (my fault). The solution (in postgres 8.0.1): Edit data/pg_hba.conf to contain the line: local all postgres trust Then su to unix user postgres and restart postges with: > bin/pg_ctl restart -D /usr/local/pgsql/data -m fast and finally, login to postgres with: > psql -U postgres -d template1 and do alter user postgres with encrypted password 'newpass'; Remove the line added to pg_hba.conf, and restart postgres again! I'm a happy (and very relieved) camper. Marc ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 9: In versions below 8.0, the planner will ignore your desire to choose an index scan if your joining column's datatypes do not match