Upgrade to MetaDefender Core 5.21.0 or later on Windows systems with a non-ASCII locale

Check your MetaDefender Core version and Operating System

This guide applies to MetaDefender Core on Windows, when upgrading to version 5.21.0 or later.

Summary

Starting with MetaDefender Core 5.21.0, the product bundles PostgreSQL 18. PostgreSQL 18 cannot initialize its database cluster if the Windows system locale name contains non-ASCII characters. For example, Turkish Windows uses the locale Turkish_Türkiye.1254, which contains ü.

Check if your system is affected

Before upgrading, open PowerShell and run:

Get-WinSystemLocale

If the returned locale name contains non-ASCII characters, your system is affected and you must follow the procedure below.

If the locale name contains only ASCII characters, no action is required — upgrade as usual.

Alternative: upgrade without preserving processing history

If your system is affected but you do not need to retain your processing history, you can use the following simpler procedure instead of the database backup and restore steps.

  1. Export current configuration.

  2. Fresh install new MetaDefender Core v5.21.0 or latest version

  3. Import back the configuration to new installed MetaDefender Core.

How to upgrade safely

Follow these steps in order. Your scan history, license, and settings will be preserved at the end.

Step 1 — Back up your data from current installed Core

  1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.

  2. Change to the PostgreSQL binary directory of the current installation: <Installation Folder>\postgres\bin . Example:

    cd "C:\Program Files\OPSWAT\MetaDefender Core\postgres\bin"

  3. Export the database:

    pg_dumpall.exe -h <pg_host> -p <pg_port> -U <pg_user> -f <backup_location>\Core_backup.sql

    1. Example: pg_dumpall -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres -f C:\OPSWAT\Core_backup.sql

  4. If you are prompted for a password, enter the password configured for the bundled PostgreSQL instance.

  5. Confirm that Core_backup.sql was created and is not empty.

Step 2 — Edit the backup file

  1. Open Core_backup.sql in a text editor.

  2. Remove every occurrence of the keyword UNLOGGED. This prevents errors when the dump is restored into the new database.

  3. Save the file.

Example:

  • Before (what's in the dump file):

    CREATE UNLOGGED TABLE cached_scan.schema_version ( version smallint, instance_id smallint ) PARTITION BY LIST (instance_id);

  • After (what it should look like):

    CREATE TABLE cached_scan.schema_version ( version smallint, instance_id smallint ) PARTITION BY LIST (instance_id);

Step 3 — Uninstall current MetaDefender Core

Uninstall the current MetaDefender Core.

Step 4 — Install new MetaDefender Core version

Run the Core installer. Once installation completes, do not activate or configure anything yet.

Step 5 — Restore your data

  1. Stop the MetaDefender Core service.

  2. Following this guideline to manually start the bundled PostgreSQL service.

  3. Open Command Prompt as Administrator and change to the PostgreSQL binary directory:

cd "C:\Program Files\OPSWAT\MetaDefender Core\postgres\bin"

  1. List all databases to find the MetaDefender Core database name:

psql.exe -h localhost -p 5435 -U postgres -c "\l"

Look for the database whose name begins with metadefender_core_ — for example, metadefender_core_h21nqf. Note this name; you need it in the following steps.

  1. Drop the existing database:

psql.exe -h localhost -p 5435 -U postgres -c "DROP DATABASE \"metadefender_core_h21nqf\";"

  1. Create an empty database with the same name:

psql.exe -h localhost -p 5435 -U postgres -c "CREATE DATABASE \"metadefender_core_h21nqf\";"

  1. Restore the backup into the new database:

psql.exe -h localhost -p 5435 -U postgres -d metadefender_core_h21nqf -f "C:\OPSWAT\Core_backup.sql"

Depending on the size of the dump, the restore may take several minutes.

  1. Start the MetaDefender Core service.

Note: Replace metadefender_core_h21nqf in the commands above with the actual database name you identified in step 3. The suffix is generated per installation and differs on every system.

Step 6 — Verify

Open the MetaDefender Core web management console and confirm the following:

  • Processing History shows your previous scan records.

  • Settings retain your previous configuration.

  • Your license is still active.

Need help?

If you encounter errors during the restore step or MetaDefender Core does not start after the upgrade, contact OPSWAT Support for help.

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Upgrade to MetaDefender Core 5.21.0 or later on Windows systems with a non-ASCII localeSummaryHow to upgrade safelyStep 1 — Back up your data from current installed CoreStep 2 — Edit the backup fileStep 3 — Uninstall current MetaDefender CoreStep 4 — Install new MetaDefender Core versionStep 5 — Restore your dataStep 6 — VerifyNeed help?