wheel <wheel@xxxxxxxxx> writes: > I guess the reason is that the pg system database etc are lodged in the > hive under \base\, and the system db contains the metadata about the db > to be restored? No, the reason why selective restore doesn't work is that all tables in a database cluster depend on the same commit log (pg_clog) to determine which rows are valid and which are not. What you were trying to do is described in the manual (with a warning not to do it) under backup/restore procedures: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.2/static/backup-file.html Also, if you would like to know more about the physical layout of the database contents, it's described here: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.2/static/storage.html regards, tom lane
