Hi. I've just installed Mandrake, and this is the first time I'm using a Linux distro. I set my user name to something dumb, and can't remember the password. I can log in as "root," but how could I change/add users? I go into a window like Control Panel and see that I can change the picture, but can't figure out how to change the name and password so that I don't have to login as root.

Also, I installed Mandrake by using the boot.iso, so I know the system has to be detecting some sort of network connection. I have Cable internet, and a router. I tried pinging the IP address on one of my other computers (all run Windows), and it didn't come back with a reply (Network is Unreachable). Under Information I see Samba Status, and when I click on it, the bottom window says: "ERROR: Unable to run smbstatus." Is there a way to fix this?

Final question for now.. are there any free games I can install to pass by the time?

Thanks.

how about you download a linux totorial from the net and learn the basics?

True, he could do that - but perhaps (IMHO) he might be offered a more immediately helpful response?


My personal experiences with Mandrake have not been that good, so I'm probably not the best qualified to answer but I'll have a go.

If you can log in as root then you should definitely be able to delete and recreate a new user. I don't know if you will be able to change the password without the old one, so prehaps recreating is the best way to go. Editing a user icon is just part of what you can do, so persevere with the control-panel-like-thing. It's worth realising that as with most computer issues, there are many ways to don the same thing. Sorry I can't be more specific, but I use Suse now.

Regarding the network problem there are some questions that spring to my mind. Is the network card driver installed (does the machine know there is a card present)? Have you set up the router IP as the gateway? Are you using DHCP or have you set an IP for this machine?

I'm a very long way from being an expert, especially with Samba (see my thread). However I don't think that Samba is your immediate problem if the pings are not working.

Perhaps someone else could give more specific help?

Best of luck,

Irf.

If you can log in as root, do so. You should be able to reach the Mandrake Control Center, either from the Main Menu, or from a panel icon. In the "System" section, you can launch UserDrake to manage your users. From here you can add or delete users, change their passwords, and add them to groups if necessary.

As to the Samba problem; is Samba installed? Are the smbd and nmbd daemons running (look in the System Monitor if using GNOME, try KDE System Guard if using KDE, or in any DE, open a terminal and type top and look for processes with these names)?

What is your network setup? Can you reach the Internet, just not the other PCs? Are you trying to ping them directly by IP address or by hostname? Have you used the Network and Internet Wizards in the Mandrake Control Center to set up your network connections?

Free games? You should have several installed by KDE and GNOME, if you installed either or both of those Desktop Environments, and Frozen Bubble is part of the Mandrake default install (since Mandrake supported the development of this great little game). If you need more, you should consider going to Easy URPMI (assuming your network problems do not include Internet access) and using the instructions on that site to add some external repositories to your Software Media Manager. Once that is done, you will have access to all of the games in Mandrake repositories, and I think you'll find plenty to satisfy you. Just remember to change the default filter in Mandrake Control Center=>Software Management=>RPMDrake (Install Software) from "Mandrake Choices" to "All Software by...." and you'll see thousands of programs.

Easiest way to change a users password is to open up a terminal (command line) as root, and do:
passwd username
If your user was named dan, type
passwd dan
<then you will be prompted to enter the new password>
As root, you are not required to know the old password to change it