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I use Windows 7 on my own home computer. I have installed PostgreSQL and now I would like to create an database.

I tried with createdb mydatabase but I got this error message:

createdb: could not connect to database postgres: FATAL: role "Jonas" does
not exist

I have also tried to create a role "Jonas" with createuser Jonas but I got the same error, even if I was logged in as Administrator in PowerShell.

How can I create a PostgreSQL database on my Windows 7 machine?

Jonas
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2 Answers2

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http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.1/static/tutorial-createdb.html

Another response could be this:

createdb: could not connect to database postgres: FATAL:  user "joe" does not
exist

where your own login name is mentioned. This will happen if the administrator has not created a PostgreSQL user account for you. (PostgreSQL user accounts are distinct from operating system user accounts.) If you are the administrator, see Chapter 18 for help creating accounts. You will need to become the operating system user under which PostgreSQL was installed (usually postgres) to create the first user account.

Community
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ta.speot.is
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    I tried to start PowerShell as Administrator and then execute `createuser Jonas` but I got the same error message. – Jonas Dec 10 '10 at 22:34
  • Did you try to start PowerShell as `postgres`? – ta.speot.is Dec 10 '10 at 22:42
  • No, how can I do that? I asked a related [question](http://superuser.com/questions/220144/how-can-i-run-commands-in-powershell-with-administrator-permissions/220150#220150) to solve this, but that only works for `Administrator`. – Jonas Dec 10 '10 at 22:52
  • It worked when I started PowerShell with `runas /user:ComputerName\postgres powershell` and then executed `createuser Jonas` – Jonas Dec 10 '10 at 23:34
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From http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.1/static/tutorial-createdb.html

It could also be that you were assigned a PostgreSQL user name that is different from your operating system user name; in that case you need to use the -U switch or set the PGUSER environment variable to specify your PostgreSQL user name.

I met the same problem, now I do it with 

createdb -U postgres dbname
Tony
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