Hi folks,

How can I login as ROOT after booting at 'Desktop Manager" popup. I am
only allowed to login as USER both KDE and GNOME.

Thanks in advance.

B.R.
satimis

That is my problem also...

and can anybody tell me how to run the "dselect" program...I mean how to add package and remove package from list..at the time of installation...

another problem....I used redhat before...their I use pine at text mode to send/recieve mail...is there any type of software like "pine" at debian...

If you use the GDM login manager you can su to root (type su in a terminal and then the password when asked; type exit when you're done doing whatever it is you wanted to do and become your old boring self again), then run gdmconfig. It may also be called gdmsetup (or is it gdm-setup?) in some versions. In this graphical configuration program you can choose your options. I do however recommend that you do NOT allow root to log in using GDM. There is absolutely no reason to ever run X as root. Whenever you need root privileges, use the su command, or Alt+Ctrl+F1 (any virtual terminal from F1 to F6) and log in as root there. You can then switch back to the graphical user interface with Ctrl+Alt+F7.

Debian doesn't ship pine as a binary because of license problems. You can build it from source, use mutt (a lesser email client), or add this line to /etc/apt/sources.list and do an apt-get install pine:dselect is pretty straight-forward and efficient once you get used to it. If you want to mark a package for installation in the package listing, just hit the + key on your keyboard. The minus key removes packages (be careful, you might remove more than you thought you would becasue of dependency problems!). When done, just hit return until you return to the main screen, and hit Install....follow the instructions basically.

Håkan

From the default setup of GDM - you may get to the GDM Configurator by clicking "system -> Configure" from the menu at the top of the window. It asks for the root password. Under the "Security" tab there is a check box marked "Allow root to log in with GDM"

As Håkan says, dselect is very efficient and in my opinion the best package management system I've seen yet for an OS. Even if it is text-based. It *always* works. If you love your windowed environment too much - there is a package installed by default called Synaptic which kind of does the same job, but in a GTK window.

Thanks..now I am able to log on as root to xwindows...my problem was I just wanted to install more packages from xwindows...cause dselect was creating problem for me..still I am facing problem with it...at xwindows I run package manager and now installing the packages which I want..but the problem is I have to install one by one...I cannot select more than 3 or 4 packages at a time...can you guys help me about that...


also please send some comments more about dselect so that I can try my best to be familiar with dselect....I am runing dselect..but which package is selected and which is not...still makes me confused...


waiting for your help...

From the "display" help section in dselect:

The top half of the screen shows a list of packages. For each package you see
four columns for its current status on the system and mark. In terse mode (use
`v' to toggle verbose display) these are single characters, from left to right:

Error flag: Space - no error (but package may be in broken state - see below)
`R' - serious error during installation, needs reinstallation;

Installed state: Space - not installed;
`*' - installed;
`-' - not installed but config files remain;
packages in { `U' - unpacked but not yet configured;
these states { `C' - half-configured (an error happened);
are broken { `I' - half-installed (an error happened).

Old mark: what was requested for this package before presenting this list;

Mark: what is requested for this package:
`*': marked for installation or upgrade;
`-': marked for removal, but any configuration files will remain;
`=': on hold: package will not be processed at all;
`_': marked for purge completely - even remove configuration;
`n': package is new and has yet to be marked for install/remove/&c.

Also displayed are each package's Priority, Section, name, installed and
available version numbers (shift-V to display/hide) and summary description.



When you select a package to install using + the "mark" field changes. A bright askerisk '*' will appear to the left of the line. This will tell you the package is marked for installation.

Thanks..now I am very much familiar with dselect...Now can you please tell me that whether I can do my xwindows configuration again cause my previous agp was built in with motherboard...xwindows was not working properly...Now I have plugged in a VGA card.. ( S3 inc.) ...Now can I run the xsetup again from the text mode...so that I can give the proper information and let my xwindows work properly again..cause everytime I am getting fatal error at xwindows...I need to fix it...please help...

I just need to run the xsetup again..How can I....

Use su or log in as root (to get administrator privileges), then run dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 to rerun the XFree86 configuration program.

Also, when you're having problems with X, it's usually very enlightening to view the XFree86 log in /var/log. It is very verbose and helpful.

Håkan

The traditional readline X configuration utility is also available at: /usr/X11R6/bin/xf86config