Table import errors

[Dean Karengin]

I AM NOT A DBA. However, as I am the Linux guy, and MySql lives on Linux, I got stuck with this.

So, DB1 has good, current data in some tables, and a known set of corrupted tables. The corruption was due to (my ignorance) importing utf8 data to a latin1 db.

DB2 has good, older data in some tables, and the known corrupted tables have been repaired.

I want to put the repaired tables from DB2 with the current data in DB1. I have been trying varying types of INSERT INTO. My best result to date was deleting the corrupt table, then:

CREATE TABLE db1.table_name LIKE db2.same_table_name;
INSERT INTO db1.table_name
SELECT * FROM db2.same_table_name

This got me foreign key constraint errors.

SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKs=0

and try again, got

Cannot add foreign key constraint.

So I tried to truncate the table, but you "Cannot truncate a table referenced in a foreign key constraint".

INSERT INTO db1.table_name
SELECT * FROM db2.table_name

Incorrect string value: bunch of stuff for column TITLE at row 5.

I am in a position where management insists on the "current" data with the "repaired" tables, as "No data loss is acceptable".

Any advice or help is REALLY REALLY appreciated. As I said, I'm not a DBA, and an only learning this thanks to Google, a SYSADMIN's best friend.

TIA.