I would try also increasing your net buffer for the command, via a set net_buffer_length=1000000; Try disabling foreign key checks too, if you know the data.sql file is clean and doesn't violate any foreign key constraints. You might get a bit more granularity if you don't try to do it all in one command and use the interactive shell instead: mysql -u root -p database > set global max_allowed_packet=10000000000; ect . . . > source data.sql; -- Todd Millecam