hi guys this may sound stupid but I can not sign on as root in a terminal.
but other programs that need a root password are fine like kynaptic, kInfocenter I have signed on as root with these utility's and every think is fine no errors, full access, this is how I know the root password I have is correct, as it's the same password I use for all passwords. I am using kubuntu 64 bit

hear is what I get from konsole

samuelmp@ubuntu:~$ su
Password:
su: Authentication failure
Sorry.
samuelmp@ubuntu:~$

The root account is disabled when you first install Ubuntu.
The first user created during the installation has administrative rights on the system,
and can run programs as root with sudo, using only their normal user password.
For example: sudo apt-get update.

If you wish to use the root account in more traditional UNIX fashion,
you can set the root password by typing sudo passwd root.
This will allow you to use su or login as root on the console.

If you need a shell with root privileges, run sudo -s.

All uses of sudo will require the user's password.

Thank you I have sorted it out thanks to your help. I just put this In a terminal now I have root access.

samuelmp@ubuntu:~$ sudo -s
Password:
root@ubuntu:~#

After installing my first ubuntu 5.04, I was a little bit shocked too about this.
for more info:ubuntu rootsudo

Sorry a little OOT
And I had a problem with serial mouse too. But had it fixed.
for more info:ubuntu serialmouse

Ubuntu's nice but I'm still a slacker