Some would think this a really easy question, and I hope that it is, but after scouring countless sites and threads, I have yet to find an answer. I have just installed Debian 'woody', and did so without any problems. On reboot, it automatically loads xwindows, then the gnome/sawfish GUI. The gnome/sawfish GUI does not allow me to login as 'root' (I'm assume for security reasons). So I login as a user, and it takes me to the GUI. But I need to exit out of the gnome/sawfish GUI, and login as root, to make sure I have loaded the right modules/devices + I want to play around with some commands to become more familiar.

1) How, step by step, do I exit out of Gnome/sawfish back to the command line to login as ROOT?
2) What are the steps, to stop Xwindows from automatically loading the Gnome/sawfish at bootup?

Thanx in advance
Aj

Can't tell you for sure about getting logged in as root, but i can tell you that most here would (will) recommend against it due to the risk to the system. If you're just wanting to issue some commands as root (and if Debian operates similar to mandrake as I'd expect), open a console and enter 'su'. That'll ask you for your root password and after entering it, you're root in the terminal. Just be aware that at root you can hose your system if you're not careful.

HTH

I agree with toes: (1) just use a terminal (if that's appropriate) and (2) rooting can really screw you over.

Also, since you have X & Gnome, I'm guessing that you'll be using you computer primarily as a `desktop box' (for browsing, listening to mp3s and that kinda' stuff). As a fellow Debian user, I can recommend `sarge'--it is in fact quite stable, and all the programs are much more up-to-date. I have tried both of them, and sarge is right for me. I think you will agree (*).

(*) note that quality is in the eye of the beholder; if you have specific needs and you know _why_ woody is better than sarge for you, then by all means: keep on using woody. But please don't dismiss the idea of using sarge, just because it doesn't have a `stable' label or you're don't like change;

pardon the long rant and the `pusher talk'

Jonas Kölker

oh, and I forgot this: if you go under "User CP", there's a form field named `distro'; you'll be doing those who help you (and thus yourself) a favor by filling it out.

Thanx, I'll try the 'su' when I get back to the box. I'm not too worried about logging in as root, nor am I worried about messing it up, since if built it basically as a 'fun box' to learn on. I figure if I really mess it up, I'll just wipe the system and start clean. In that senario, I'll learn from a mistake, and get practice at the install.

I'm also going to throw the post over to the distribution threads.

Thanx
Aj