Guest GhostDX Posted June 20, 2003 Report Share Posted June 20, 2003 When I start MDK9.1, there is no choice for the user. I just dumps me in KDE3 on the desktop. I was looking for how to get the user root as one of the choices to login in as. Does anyone know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted June 20, 2003 Report Share Posted June 20, 2003 a few notes: 1. you should never log on as root :shock: 1.a. you should open a terminal (konsole) as a user, then su - root rather than logging on directly as root 2. if kde is started automatically you will have auto logon turned on ... have a look in kcontrol, you can turn it off there, then it will not automatically log you on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted June 20, 2003 Report Share Posted June 20, 2003 If you go to the kde control center, go to system, login manager, users. You can un-hide the root login. Note that you need to push the administative button and enter the su password. BUT I would advise you to never login in to a desktop as root!!! You can do really neat things that you cannot fix!!!! Anything that you need to do as root can be done in other, safer ways. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtweidmann Posted June 20, 2003 Report Share Posted June 20, 2003 Just add my voice to it, when possible don't log in as root. Just run whatever particular command you want as root. I think MDK especially made their log in manager so it wouldn't allow root log in. You could set up a different login manager (eg KDM or GDM), or boot to the command line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JaseP Posted June 20, 2003 Report Share Posted June 20, 2003 Never shmever. It's ok to login graphically as root as long as you are carefull. It's the being carefull part that you need to watch... You should be able to change the login characteristics by finding the login manager under the appropriate menu options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted June 20, 2003 Report Share Posted June 20, 2003 :lol: As you can see, even this topic has had discussion in the past! If you are fairly new to mandrake and/or linux, think about posting, in a new topic, what you are trying to do as root, and explore the different ideas that you will get. I told you in my earlier post exactly where to go in order to get a root login. Mandrake turns it off by default because of the amazingly incredible stories about the creative ways users find to destroy their systems! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JaseP Posted June 21, 2003 Report Share Posted June 21, 2003 There are rare times when the only way to fix something is to log in as root graphically. The instances are rare, and usually involve screwing something else up in your system very badly to the point where only root has the authority to fix it. One example is when you have nerfed your filesystem so badly that you must unmount the /home partition to fix it. It's rare but it happens. But like the others have said it is usually best to just su to root. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannonfodder Posted June 21, 2003 Report Share Posted June 21, 2003 Just to delve into this deeper, how does su to root differ from an actual login of root? I can still delete all my files for example, right? What is the extra danger of logging in as root vs doing an su? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anon Posted June 21, 2003 Report Share Posted June 21, 2003 http://www.faqchest.com/linux/freeBSD/fbsd...0513_19030.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted June 21, 2003 Report Share Posted June 21, 2003 For me, I use a console to do alot, even loging out or shuting down. I do tasks as myself, unless prevented from doing so. I su at need, and exit as soon as I am done. Back in 7.0 and 7.1, I don't remember, I did not set up a user, just myself as root. After reinstalling 2-3 times, I decided to heed the advice I had been reading, and made a user. I stopped that type of destruction. The funny thing is, I could not even tell you what I did to cause the chaos! I was too new, and not afraid to "do" stuff. If you know what you are doing, it doesn't matter. But I found it to be good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aRTee Posted June 22, 2003 Report Share Posted June 22, 2003 To join in the naysaying: Never log in graphically as root! Since the invention of the GUI the 'undo' button has become a must. Viz. your drag and drop indications can lead to big problems; just imagine you're browsing and by accident put /etc into /home or so..... When you type at the console, you can also make grave errors, but you can check and doublecheck before hitting enter -- although rm -rf / home/[user]/somefile as root can still wipe your box clean as a newly polished mirror (note the space), it can also be checked before sending the command... (One way to avoid this kind of stuff is just never use long absolute paths in such commands, but first cd into the right place; and never use rm -rf when you are in a hurry ;) ) JaseP, if you mess up your system so that you have to unmount the /home partition (to check it or so), just go to the console, there you can log on as root (non grahically), do a telinit 3 and umount /home, then fsck or whatever, then mount /home and telinit 5, then ctrl-d to log off your root logon. Logging on graphically as root is Never Necessary. Please give me examples as to where that would be necessary, I don't see any situation where it cannot be avoided to log on graphically as root; I've been using linux straight since over 2 years (dualbooting somewhat in the beginning), have a headless server running too, and never had to log in graphically anywhere as root. Canonfodder, and anyone else, feel free to do it anyway. The point, I guess is: - if you don't know why you shouldn't log in as root, you shouldn't - if you have to ask how to do it, you shouldn't - if you know why you shouldn't but really want to, sure. You are wise enough to know that if in doing so, you should not blame linux for letting you screw up your system. Hmm,... I once started a Taoistic poem about this: Those who know how to log on graphically as root don't want to those who want to log on graphically as root don't know how to (never got to finish it though....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JaseP Posted June 23, 2003 Report Share Posted June 23, 2003 aRTee, One example is when creating a new system from backups of /home partition data that was stored elsewhere and you need to move the whole directories, lock stock and barrel to the new /home partition locations and change the user and permissions for everything (including subdirectories). I'm not saying it can't be done by su-ing to root and launching the file managers from the other users' directory, but it is much more convenient to just do it in root. That way you don't have to do it one user at a time or create an additional user to do so. Another is when there is a wierd permissions problem associated with the X-windows system that is difficult to lock-down (i.e.: GUI available as root but not for users... ). Sometimes that sort of thing happens when a snafu occurs related to setting firewalls and new drivers. Besides, it's my understanding that when su-ing to root from a user's directory, that the settings for any graphical apps being launched as root get stored in root anyway... I'm not saying that there are a lot of reasons to do it,... I'm just saying there are an isolated few, and if it were ALWAYS a bad idea, then it wouldn't be possible to do anyway... system architecture would be designed such that it couldn't be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aRTee Posted June 23, 2003 Report Share Posted June 23, 2003 JaseP, I don't see what you mean with the first part, 'repopulating' stuff from backup. Why couldn't that be done easy and conveniently on the commandline? cp -pr or so would do nicely, keeping all file attributes (ownership, timestamp and last access time etc) the same; man cp for the exact command (because I may be off on the -pr.. If you have to change usernames/ownership because a user had a different accountname in the past, chown and chgrp come in handy). I would never do such a thing with a filemanager, don't see why. If you find it more convenient, fine, but it doesn't have to be done that way at all. No UNIX sysop would ever think of doing it other than on the command line. Linux is for all practical purposes a unix. Weird permissions that would allow only root to run gui-- I wouldn't know, wouldn't find out, because if my normal user can't run X, the system is crippled and should be repaired... ;) Ok, you may check if root too cannot run X+gui, so you find out it is a permission problem. But I don't class that as having to run a WM or DE as root to perform a certain task. So once more, I see no situation where you HAVE TO run a wm/de as root, or log on graphically as root. BTW yes you are right, if you su to root and run konqueror, all kde stuff that konq needs also gets loaded; and all settings get stored in /root too. But my point is, even that you don't have to do. I never run konqueror as root. I disagree with this: I'm just saying there are an isolated few, and if it were ALWAYS a bad idea, then it wouldn't be possible to do anyway... system architecture would be designed such that it couldn't be done. First: there still isn't any example of where it is really necessary. Second: why wouldn't it be possible to do even if you shouldn't? Should they block the command rm -rf / too? Even though there is no single example that I can think of where that is actually helpful? If you want to wipe your system, you are easier off to reinstall whatever OS and in the process format/delete your partitions. Linux (unix, bsd) as a system really doesn't protect the root user from himself. Therefore, you should do the least as possible as root, which includes that you shouldn't log on graphically as root... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowator Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 But arTee said: If you don't know how to do it you shouldn't do it. Thats the whole point. Running a windows manager as root kicks off every GUI process as root. Every process has root access. Launching a cp-rp from a root console starts that process as root. The question is similar to my gas tank has a sensor that disables the ignition when its open but I find it inconvenient to have to get out and unlock it when I fill up, I prefer to leave the gas cap open, can you tell me how to disable the sensor. Its really not that difficult to run your window manager as root so implicitly its self protecting. I do it occaisionally but I realise what I'm doing and I wouldn't encourage anyone else to do it on principle that all the people I know that understand the consequences can do it without even thinking twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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