Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I bought redhat linux fedora for dummies, book and instalation DVD and carried out the instructions correctly (as far as i can tell).
everything seems ok when i first log on but when a open a terminal window, log on as root, and try to input a command as quoted in the book (eg iptables -L)i receive the message 'iptables command not konwn'. all commands seem to be replied with 'command not known'. I guess i must have messed up the installation some how. I've tried re-installing but the problem persists.
I'm new to linux and really want to get into this but i'm growing very frustrated.
please help!
This is because you're running those commands as an unpriviledged user and those specific ones need to be executed as root. The reason is that those commands (eg: iptables) are typically in root's $PATH.
So, either run these as root, or modify your $PATH so those directories are in it. I advise reading RUTE.
Actually Fedora is very peculiar in this. Even you are root you can't use the commands reserved for root in any directory. You have to go to /sbin and then use these comands using ./iptables for example.
If you want to correct this bevahior, follow scuzzman advice and modify your $PATH and include /sbin.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.