k, guys.... first of all, thanks for all the help.

i resolved my login problem, finally. here is how:

with redhat valhalla, you must create a machine name in the linux password list. use the command useradd... when this is done, you must go in to the /etc/passwd and shadow files. find the name of the machine that you just made and place a "$" behind it. (leave out the quotes) this will tell samba that it is a machine and not a user. once this is done, use smbpasswd and the name of the machine just as it was created with the useradd command. this will make the machine names necessary. if you do not do this, it will not create the necessary accounts, and you will not be allowed to add the machine on the domain. once the machine accounts are created, use the user name "root" and the password that you gave samba. if you didn't give it one, and wish to, type "smbpasswd" at the prompt. this will allow you to set the password for samba. i am not sure if it is the "root" password. if it isn't, one of you guru's please correct me... when you go to add the machine onto the domain, you must use roor and the password. it should let you on, assuming you have the smb.conf file configured correctly.

good luck!