Hi all,

Id be grateful if anyone can help me. Ive searched high and low and I cant seem to find the answer anywhere else.

Ive installed Fedore Core 3 Linux. It works, it boots to windows, it boots to linux - or at least it did.

The problem I have is that I used to login via route (with every intention of setting up another user - I just never got round to it (ive only been on it a couple of days you see)). The problem I have is I set the system to use KDE as the default session as well as the default manager (or something along those lines) and after restarting the system I get to a different window (no longer the usual grub bluecurve or even gnome one id change it to) that is titled something like 'linux host'.

The problem is it wont allow me to login as root, and since I dont have another user name at my dissposable it seems im locked out for good.

Are there any ways around this?

On another note Ive read a bit about Fluxbox, vector linux (and a few other more 'streamlined' distros). If it comes to reinstalling linux (as the only way around the problem) then what would people recommend? Fedora seems to have too many bundled pieces of software- Id rather add them as and when I need them.


Any help would be most appreciated.


Matthew

You could try run linux rescue. Boot with installation CD and type linux rescue on the prompt, you can then access your hard disk. I don't if you'll be able to add users with useradd but at least you can edit /etc/inittab to boot on run level 3. That way it'll boot on text mode and you can add a user with useradd. You might want to try useradd on rescue mode so if it works you don't have to change the default run level.

Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get to a text console.

Log in as root.

Create a user.

Log out of root.

Ctrl-Alt-F7 to get back to the login screen.

Problem solved. (The problem being that KDM doesn't allow root logins, for security)

Cheers, I'll try your suggestions as soon as I get back to my computer.

I've also been doing a bit of reading on other distributions of linux.

Would a vector linux and fluxbox combination be better or worse than fedora core 3 with kde or gnome?


It seems there are quite a few distros and even after reading some reviews on madpenguin.org (as well as some external links from their website) Im not much wiser as to which might be better. Streamlined is the way Id like to go and I dont mind getting dirty (I have windows set up for any essentials - plus as I mentioned in another post, it was a windows program (bootmagic) that messed my computer up 2 days ago - it was linux I used to browse the web and find the answer!!)


Thanks again,

(fingers crossed)

Matthew

This question is one of the ongoing questions of the universe - which distro is the best.

There is no simple answer to be honest, there is no such thing as everyone's idea of "the perfect distro" differs so wildly. It all depends on what you expect and what you want to do with it.

I finally settled on Fedora Core 3 with GNOME for several reasons - I like YUM, the package manager which helps prevent depency hell (it brings me to tears), the ease of install, and GNOME because I like the more simplified look.

Other polished distro's are Mandrake (aimed at newbies, but enough to keep you going into semi-guru), and SuSE, which is well thought of in Europe. For the more experienced user you have Slackware and Gentoo. Now all of these has their own shortcomings which I won't go into, but the simple fact is, it's all a matter of taste and personal preference.

Root login:
see http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...=root+gdm.conf
or have a look in the gdm.conf (or the xdm counterpart, depending on your system) for a line starting with AllowRoot

Cheers all,

A little perseverance and its up and running again. All sorted (for the time being and the next mistake I make!). I guess its all part of the learning process.