UPDATE query in MySQL on large table

Question

I have a MySQL database with 21M records and I'm trying to do an update on about 1M records but the query fails with ERROR 1206 (HY000): The total number of locks exceeds the lock table size.

Is it possible to update the table without acquiring locks?

I don't have access to change MySQL configuration parameters like innodb_buffer_pool_size. Is there a different way to achieve the same?

Thanks

EDIT:

1. I've tried it in batches of 5000, it works a few times, but I get the same error
2. I've tried LOCK TABLES to lock the entire table and still it doesn't work.

Answer 1

I think you can use the limit clause to do the updates in batches.

Answer 2

Try locking at table level rather than row level. Use LOCK TABLES MyTable WRITE. This might solve the problem. No guarantees though! Don't forget to unlock the tables either!