Frustrated with Ubuntu Sudo

nev · 07-03-2006, 06:05 PM

Hi All.
I swapped over from FC5 to Ubuntu 5 and then recently upgraded to Ubuntu 6.

Thing is, although the Sudo shell is supposed to provide a fool proof way for new users to get to know Linux it can also really frustrate me.

What I would like to do is to learn things my own way through the traditional Graphical Root / User and Terminal Root / User.

The problem is, when I enable login for the graphical root, a lot of the useful administration tools are missing from the System > Administration submenu.

How can I get these tools back ???

The tool Alacarte Menu Editor claims that I should able to see and use them, and their equivalent commands do work from the terminal. Thing is they just arn't in the menu and it's very frustrating, can anyone help ?

Thanks
Neville

homey · 07-03-2006, 07:58 PM

I think Ubuntu/Kbuntu is geared towards people who like it when someone dictates how the desktop should look and act.
That is not me.

JimBass · 07-03-2006, 08:47 PM

You also shouldn't run Xwindows (bundle term for gnome, kde, basically anything with non-ascii art) as root, ever. That isn't the traditional way to do things. If you need root access, then google for adding a root user to ubuntu, it has been posted several places, including here. All root functions can be done easily through the konsole/terminal text only thingie.

Peace,
JimBass

zetabill · 07-03-2006, 09:41 PM

It's been quite some time since I've used Ubuntu, but I can vaguely remember that the very first thing I did was enable the root account. From what I understand, the root user is there but it is disabled. If my memory serves me correctly you would need to get to a console and do:

Code:

sudo passwd root

and then enter the password for root. Otherwise the answer you're looking for is most certainly on the ubuntu website...

Good luck!

nev · 07-04-2006, 03:36 AM

Yeah, it's really frustrating as some of my work was saved in previous distros within root owned folders. It's painstatking fumbling around trying to get permissions to work as expected.

As a relatively new user, unless I have enough time to read 'the internet', then root is sometimes the only way to get things done without loosing my patience.

Pain in the grass.

Tinkster · 07-04-2006, 04:10 AM

sudo su -c "cp -r /root /tmp && chown -R user:group /tmp/root"

Piece of piss. No gooey required. And betcha that typing & running
that from a terminal is faster than trying to achieve the same result
using a Gooey tool, too.

Cheers,
Tink

zetabill · 07-04-2006, 09:37 PM

From ubuntuguide.org I confirmed from my above post that:

Code:

sudo passwd root

is the way to enable the root account. Then you'll be able to use it as you would with any other distro.

reddazz · 07-04-2006, 11:30 PM

There are several threads that deal with this issue. One of them is http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=452503 .

IBall · 07-05-2006, 01:15 AM

An alternative to enabling root logins is to use the -s option to sudo:

Code:

sudo -s

which will prompt you for your password, and give you a shell with root access.

This way, you don't need to enable root login (which broke a few things on Breezy), but can get a root shell so you don't need to prefix every command with sudo.

I hope this helps
--Ian