# Upgrade from 17.9 to 18.3.1 seems stuck

**URL:** <https://forums.percona.com/t/upgrade-from-17-9-to-18-3-1-seems-stuck/40625>\
**Category:** PostgreSQL\
**Created:** [April 13, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://forums.percona.com/t/upgrade-from-17-9-to-18-3-1-seems-stuck/40625 "2026-04-13T23:10:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![christopher](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.percona.com/christopher/32/9072_2.png) [@christopher](https://forums.percona.com/u/christopher)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://forums.percona.com/t/upgrade-from-17-9-to-18-3-1-seems-stuck/40625/1 "2026-04-13T23:10:13Z")

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I have been trying to upgrade from version 17.9 to 18.3.1 on Ubuntu 24.04 for a couple days but seem to be stuck half way through.

The initial attempt proceeded as documented but ran into trouble because I had not preinstalled the additional dictionaries that we use.

After resolving this issue I attempted to restart the migration:

- $ pg\_upgradecluster 17 main --check  
pg\_upgradecluster pre-upgrade checks ok

- $ pg\_upgradecluster 17 main  
Upgrading cluster 17/main to 18/main …  
Restarting old cluster with restricted connections…  
Notice: extra pg\_ctl/postgres options given, bypassing systemctl for start operation  
Cluster is already running.  
Error: Could not restart old cluster

- $ psql  
psql (18.3 - Percona Server for PostgreSQL 18.3.1, server 17.9 - Percona Server for PostgreSQL 17.9.1 - Percona Distribution)  
Type “help” for help.  
postgres=# select version();

So I completely removed the Postgres 18 and 17 packages and attempted to try again, but whenever I attempt to install percona-postgresql-18:

- sudo apt install percona-postgresql-18

I only seem to get version 17.9.

I have tried moving the /etc/postgresql/17 folder but version 17.9 just springs to life, even without it’s configuration files.

I have made a dumpall backup so at this point, having wasted way to many hours trying to figure this out, I would be happy just to fresh install percona-postgresql-18 but it will not let me do that either. version 17.9 just keep reappearing.

Please assist me to either restart the migration or remove 17.9 so I can install from scratch.

Thanks

Chris

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**Author:** ![Nam\_Dinh\_Phuong](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.percona.com/nam_dinh_phuong/32/14586_2.png) [@Nam\_Dinh\_Phuong](https://forums.percona.com/u/Nam_Dinh_Phuong)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://forums.percona.com/t/upgrade-from-17-9-to-18-3-1-seems-stuck/40625/2 "2026-04-14T01:33:15Z")

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Hi Christ,

Hope you are doing well.

> So I completely removed the Postgres 18 and 17 packages and attempted to try again, but whenever I attempt to install percona-postgresql-18:
> 
> - sudo apt install percona-postgresql-18
> 
> I only seem to get version 17.9.
> 
> …
> 
> I have made a dumpall backup so at this point, having wasted way to many hours trying to figure this out, I would be happy just to fresh install percona-postgresql-18 but it will not let me do that either. version 17.9 just keep reappearing.

After installing PG v18, did you verify the package yet?

Please run:

`dpkg -l | grep postgres`

Also, did you check the status of all clusters?

```auto
pg_lsclusters

```

If you installed PGv18 successfully, you should see something like version 18.x or only `18/main`in the output.

> $ pg\_upgradecluster 17 main  
> Upgrading cluster 17/main to 18/main …  
> Restarting old cluster with restricted connections…  
> Notice: extra pg\_ctl/postgres options given, bypassing systemctl for start operation  
> Cluster is already running.  
> Error: Could not restart old cluster

Did you stop all instances before starting the upgrade?

> Please assist me to either restart the migration or remove 17.9 so I can install from scratch.

Well, I think you can verify the above command first to make sure PGv18 is here, and retry the upgrade process. And I would like to suggest you follow the link below to do the upgrade:

> **[On Debian and Ubuntu using apt - Percona Distribution for PostgreSQL - Major...](https://docs.percona.com/postgresql/18/major-upgrade.html#on-debian-and-ubuntu-using-apt)**
>
> This document describes the in-place upgrade of Percona Distribution for PostgreSQL using the pg\_upgrade tool.

Let us know if you have any concerns or issues.

Warm regards,

Nam.