FATAL: password authentication failed for user “postgres”

This problem occurs when a there has been an old installation of GECAMed on this MAC which has not been completely removed. To remove GECAMed on a MAC you need to do the following things:

Method 1 (old versions of OS X) :

1. Delete the folder 'GECAMed' in your Applications folder.
2. Delete the folder 'PostgreSQL 8.3' in your Applications folder.
3. Delete the folder 'PostgreSQL' located in /Library/
4. Delete the folder 'postgresql-8.3' located in /Library/StartupItems/
5. Delete the folder 'jboss' located in /Library/StartupItems/
6. Delete the System User PostgreSQL in your System Preferences→Accounts
7. This is how to enable the root account on OS-X:
   • Enable the root user:
     1. Open Directory Utility, located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder.
     2. Click the lock to make changes. You will need to enter an administrator name and password.
     3. Choose Edit > Enable Root User.
     4. Enter a secure password for the root user, then enter it again in the Verify field, and click OK.
   • Enable the root user in Snow Leopard 10.6.x
     1. Open the Directory Utility located in /System/Library/CoreServices/.
     2. Click the lock to make changes. You will need to enter an administrator name and password.
     3. From the Edit menu, select Enable Root User.
     4. Enter a secure password for the root user, then enter it again in the “Verify” field, and click OK.
     5. Reboot your system.
8. Now the GECAMed installer should work.

Method 2 (newer versions) :

Determining the PostgreSQL Version Already Installed To verify which version of PostgreSQL you will be replacing, at the Terminal command line prompt type:

ls /Library/PostgreSQL/

The Terminal will respond with a list of all the directories shown in the folder found at /Library/PostgreSQL, each version number will be installed in it's own directory. In the example shown below we can confirm that PostgreSQL 9.0 is installed.

The examples used in this Guide assumes that PostgreSQL version 8.4 is installed, in the event you have a different version of PostgreSQL installed then replace the version number accordingly. For example, if you need to uninstall PostgreSQL 9.0 then replace /Library/PostgreSQL/8.4/ with /Library/PostgreSQL/9.0/

Uninstalling PostgreSQL Tip: You may need to enter your password after entering any command line that starts with Sudo to comply with OS X security procedures.

1. Execute (double click) /Library/PostgreSQL/8.4/uninstall-postgresql which will uninstall the PostgreSQL installation.

2. Stop the server.

sudo /sbin/SystemStarter stop postgresql-8.4

3. Remove menu shortcuts:

sudo rm -Rf /Applications/PostgreSQL 8.4

4. Remove the ini file

sudo rm /etc/postgres-reg.ini

5. Removing Startup Items

sudo rm /Library/StartupItems/postgresql-8.4

6. Remove the data and installed files (all databases will be lost at this point)

sudo rm -Rf /Library/PostgreSQL/8.4

7. Delete the user postgres

sudo dscl . delete /users/postgres

8. Reboot your computer

9. Reinstall GECAMED