root password expiration [solved]

[LuceScrew]

I have searched the forums, but haven't found an answer to my problem, so I am asking the experts. :D

 

How do I set the root password so it doesn't expire? Right now it keeps asking me to change my password when I sign into root using su (like in a terminal). I can use the current root password to access all the configuration screens and even log into the gui as root, but most the work I do in root is done through my regular user login and using su.

 

I recently changed from RedHat to Mandrake 10.0 Official for use as a file server. In RedHat the root password never expireed, but in Mandrake it does. I have all the user accounts set to not expire and I don't have an issue, but the root still insists on be changed every 60 days or so. So my question is, where can I configure the root account so that the password never expires?

 

Thanks for the assistance.

[spinynorman]

Welcome to the board. :)

 

I've never had to change my root password, but chage would seem to be the command to use.

 

My settings are as follows -

[root@plus steve]# chage -l root
Minimum:        0
Maximum:        99999
Warning:        7
Inactive:       -1
Last Change:            Jul 21, 2004
Password Expires:       Never
Password Inactive:      Never
Account Expires:        Never
[root@plus steve]#

[LuceScrew]

Thanks Steve, I think this is the command I have been looking for. It make sense now, "change age." I'll try it when I get home tonight and let you know how it goes.

 

Thanks for the welcome too. I have been snooping the boards for the last three months (since I loaded Mandrake) and getting lots of good info, but this was the first answer I couldn't find so I decided to sign up and post. As the saying goes, "Ask and you will receive."

 

Denny

[ChrisM]

or for a GUI method

 

System>Configuration>Other>User Administration

 

Highlight the user/Edit <or double click on highlighted user>

 

From where you can select/unselect bioth account/password expiration etc.

 

EDIT: Doh! Tired eyes

 

Sorry, just realised, this is to amend user password, not root. :unsure:

Edited February 26, 2005 by ChrisM

[LuceScrew]

No problem Chris, I tried that route first and ran into the brick wall when root wasn't an account I could modify (even when logging into the gui as root). The funny thing is I thought during the install one of the configuration options was to set root not to expire (but I may be thinking of another distro), but yet it expired. Now that Steve mentioned the chage command, it brought back old memories from a college unix class I took. I'll run the chage -l and see what my current settings are, then run through the prompts to set each section correctly.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Denny

[LuceScrew]

Thanks guys, it worked like a champ.

 

Another satisfied user...

Denny

[Guest kiekar]

Hello,

 

Let me start by saying that I am a beginner’s level using Linux.

What I have presently running is a mnf 8.2 Linux box (Multi Network Firewall).

I've dabbled around a little using some of the vi commands.

 

How would I go about changing the expire date? Do I use the VI command?

 

I ran the change -l command and this is what I got

 

[root@localhost admin]# chage -l root

Minimum: 0

Maximum: 60

Warning: 7

Inactive: -1

Last Change: Mar 28, 2005

Password Expires: May 27, 2005

Password Inactive: Never

Account Expires: Never

[root@localhost admin]#

 

Any help would be much appreciated

 

Thanks

 

Karl

[LuceScrew]

Karl, login as root in a terminal and just run the chage root command. It will walk you through changing each of the settings. Just set the expire date to something further away like 05/27/2010. The -l is just used to show the current settings of the user chosen.

 

Welcome to the board and you will be an expert in no time.