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I am changing an old MySQL database table which is still in MyISAM. I'd like to change it to InnoDB, but I don't know whether it can cause problems and it's a pretty important table so I don't want to break anything.

So my question: can it cause problems when I convert a MyISAM table to InnoDB?

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  • Maybe perform some testing on your test server? You do have one? MyISAM is being deprecated in any case.
    – Vérace
    Mar 22, 2017 at 10:56
  • Hi joshua, the answer you looking for is here dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/…
    – Peter R
    Mar 22, 2017 at 10:58
  • @Vérace where did you find hat MyISAM is being deprecated? I have never heard of this before. Mar 22, 2017 at 20:31
  • I got it from here. Bill Karwin was a Percona (?) consultant and is widely regarded as an SQL guru.
    – Vérace
    Mar 23, 2017 at 1:10
  • Version 8.0 removes MyISAM; they announced it at the Oracle conference last fall. (I think I saw Bill there.)
    – Rick James
    Mar 23, 2017 at 22:52

1 Answer 1

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Yes, it can cause a number of troubles. However, troubles are rare.

There is a list of possible 'troubles' that you might encounter, including possible solutions in a discussion format in the MariaDB knowledge base..

There is another list in a more concise format with bullet points and discussion to be found on Rick James's MySQL documentation site.

Aside from the various possible trade offs and data issues, one important bit of advice is: do not change the tables in the databases mysql, information_schema, or performance_schema. That can cause serious trouble.

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  • Thanks, good answer. Don't think it'll give me much problems. And no, I wasn't planning on changing anything to mysql, information_schema or performance_schema. Cheers! Mar 23, 2017 at 8:32
  • @Rick James Just had to say that I found it funny that I didn't notice until after posting an edit crediting your link that you were the author of this answer. I found your page a bit easier to follow than that MariaDB one, so thanks for that! Anyway. :) Jun 4, 2022 at 4:35

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