Oninit
Talk to an expert →

Informix Error -562: Database conversion failed.

Cause and resolution

Database conversion failed.

You are running a new version of the database server, and you just opened a database for the first time with this level of the software. The database server tried to upgrade the database automatically, probably by defining an additional system-catalog table. An unexpected error occurred. Check the accompanying ISAM error code for more information. If the error recurs, note all circumstances and contact IBM Informix Technical Support.

Database servers after Version 5.01 do not use this error message.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-562 is documented as obsolete — database servers after Version 5.01 don't produce it. It fired the first time a database created under an older server version was opened by a newer server version that needed to automatically upgrade its catalog (for instance, adding a new system-catalog table), and that automatic upgrade hit an unexpected error partway through.

  1. An automatic catalog upgrade failing partway through, per the official guidance, the first time a database is opened under a newer server version.
  2. Insufficient space or a permissions problem in the dbspace holding the catalog, preventing the new system-catalog table (or other upgrade step) from being written.
  3. An underlying ISAM-level error during the upgrade, per the official guidance's pointer to checking the accompanying ISAM error code for specifics.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Check the accompanying ISAM error code, per the official guidance, for the specific underlying reason the automatic upgrade failed.
  2. If this recurs, note all circumstances and contact IBM Informix Technical Support, per the official guidance — a failed automatic catalog upgrade generally needs vendor-level remediation rather than an application-level fix.
  3. On current server versions, this specific error message no longer applies, per the official guidance — a failed catalog upgrade on a supported version would surface differently and should be diagnosed against current documentation instead.
Examples
Capturing circumstances for escalation
$ onstat -
-- note server version and the database's prior version/level before escalating

along with the accompanying ISAM error code from the failed conversion attempt.

Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the accompanying ISAM error code first, per the official guidance.
  2. Confirm the dbspace holding the database's catalog has adequate free space as a plausible contributor to an automatic upgrade failure.
Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -562 in this set yet.

Obsolete since Version 5.01 — documented here for older platforms/archival reference; check the accompanying ISAM error code before escalating.