Hi all,

i am a newbiew linux user. i have got redhat linux setup at home. whenever linux boots it takes me immediately to the gui. now, i am unable to edit some files because the files show up as read only. i assume that if i have admin priviledge then i can edit the files. how do i get into admin mode in gui without reboot? and how do i edit the files?

thanks in advance...

the 'super user' is called root... so you need to tell us how did you set this up?... how do log in? are you using a regular user?, have you tried to log in as root?

Don't log in to a GUI as root. Log in as a normal user, open a terminal and use "su" (or "su - ") to become root. You'll be prompted for your root password. You will then be able to edit the files (edit: assuming of course they have write permissions for root).

>> so you need to tell us how did you set this up?

it was installed by third party and i cannot get hold of the person who installed it

nylex - thanks for your reply, but how do i open a terminal from gui ?

As an alternative to Nylex' solution:
there are usually some terminals available under <ctrl><alt><F1..F6>. Login as root. Please note that those terminals don't have graphical capabilities, they are plain text terminals.

Some people use vi(m), others use emacs to edit files. Both are text based. There are other text-based editors that are probably easier to use for a newbie but they might have limitations for advanced editing. I don't have any experience with them as I use vi(m).
Maybe mc is the tool for you. Allows directory browsing and file editing in a possibly newbie friendly way.

Depending on what you have to modify, you might need to restart services before the changes take effect.

Hi!!!

You can do the su(super user) from GUI itself. Launch either using mouse or ALT+F1. Go to System Settings(or similar option). And click on terminal. This will open a terminal in your GUI. Do su and provide the root password and enjoy editing and rootly powers !!!!

Regards

Look for entries in the menu called "Konsole", "xterm" or "Terminal". Selecting one of those will give you a terminal window. Of course, you can always use the suggestions given above this post.