Hi,

If You want to login as a root from GUI in Fedora 12 then you have to edit something like some files which are located to /etc/pam.d/

Open your Terminal from Applications -> System Tools -> Terminal

Now Login as a root from your terminal

Step 1 :- [map007@linuxsurgeon]$ su – root
Password:-

Step 2:- Now go to your /etc/pam.d/ directory.

[root@linuxsurgeon]# cd /etc/pam.d/

Note:- First take a backup of gdm file.

cp gdm gdm.bkp ( always take backup if anything goes wrong you can correct it by original file)

Step 3 :- Now Open gdm file in your favourite editor. I am using vi as my editor.

[root@linuxsurgeon pam.d]# vi gdm

Find and Comment or remove this line into your gdm file auth required pam_succeed_if.so user != root quiet

Step 4 :- Save & Exit From that File.

[root@linuxsurgeon pam.d]# vi gdm-password

Find and Comment or remove this line into your gdm file auth required pam_succeed_if.so user != root quiet

For more details :- http://www.linuxsurgeon.org/kb/?p=67

Thank you.

Things are set up like that for a reason. Don't break security models without VERY good reason. Not recommended at all.

2 members found this post helpful.

I've had more than my share of lectures on why I shouldn't login as root with out a good reason, I understand the risks, and if I still choose to log in as root and take those risks, I should be allowed to do so. I'm tired of people who think they know better than I do what's best for me and my computer, and I'm tired of these same people restricting my access to my computer. worse than that, there are multiple places on the net telling how to enable logging in as root, but when you try to find info on enabling read/write access in SELinux, all you can find is people telling you that you shouldn't be logged in as root in the first place. stop telling people why they shouldn't do what they want to do, and start helping them do what they want to do, let them worry about the results.

1 members found this post helpful.

The problem with that is that people who get rooted tend to come back here and blame\annoy us\Linux.

2 members found this post helpful.

Registered: Dec 2005
Posts: 7
Thanked: 1

^ obviously it's not me coming back and blaming, so it's kinda sad that I can't get the answers I need in these forums or anywhere else on the web. why are all of us who are trying to learn being punished because of them?

0 members found this post helpful.

If I can do anything as a normal user that I can do with root using the su command and the root password, then what's the point in disabling root in the first place? what is it really preventing? stop limiting my access based on your preferences. I'm sorry, I know I seem like I'm ranting here, but the more I look for this info and find reasons not to do it from people unwilling to help, the more pissed off I get. The reason I left Windows is because I was tired of an idiot proof OS, stop turning linux into what I was trying to get away from. I'm a 28 year old man, stop treating me like a kid and trying to protect me from myself.

0 members found this post helpful.

You're right.
On your own personal machine you should be able to do as you wish,BUT...

If you insist on posting how to do something that is generally considered bad practice in a public forum you are going to get flamed.
My suggestion would be keeping this sort of 'advice' to yourself.

2 members found this post helpful.

Because ALL processes run with root credentials while you are interacting with those programs, even the ones you are unaware of. But you made perfectly clear that you want to run as root, who are we to know better?

jlinkels

I'm not posting advice, I'm asking for it...and actually, I wasn't even asking for it. I was looking for the information in previous posts BEFORE asking, so I wouldn't ask a question that's already been answered. I've always been able to find what I needed to know in these forums up til now. I've always respected the members of this forum and their assistance up til now. now, I'm finding it hard to respect anybody who's refusing to give info based on their own preferences. that's okay, If I can't get any answers from the place that's very name implies answers, I'll go find the answers myself. It'll take longer, but in the end, I'll have what I want instead of what someone else thinks I should have. I still think it's a shame to turn so many people away with out answers to questions about root users just because YOU'RE not comfortable with the idea. I won't be back.

0 members found this post helpful.

At the learning stage being a root user is what most learners want to be. Otherwise, things will be annoying.
I think experts of this forum should first find out whether a person is using his home PC or his office desktop before advising whether to log in as root or not.

SEcurity isn't there to prevent you from being in control; it's there to prevent you from screwing up.

for those who DO want to know, the answers can be found here.

http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-can-i-log-in-as-root/

The real problem is, if your machine gets compromised while running as root,
your box will harm other people.

Kind regards

1 members found this post helpful.

I used to log in as root...all the time! I didn't want to be annoyed with putting in the root password every time I wanted to do something. But here is what I learned:

1. It takes a lot LESS time to enter the root password than it does to reload Linux... :c)
2. It's nice to be root when learning, BUT, after you feel like you have advanced in your learning, you have to RETRAIN yourself to not be root all of the time. You will learn this practice from your own mistakes...and people here are just trying to help you avoid the pot holes that MOST of us have fallen into.

One other point, if you are trying to teach yourself Linux in order to obtain employment as a Linux Administrator, you want to teach yourself proper business practices. Its one thig to toast your own equipment, but taking down a production server due in a business environment will get you fired!!

Good luck with your learning....

I have to admit i used to be guilty of logging on as root all the time (when i first started using Linux there was no security in place actively preventing this), but then security measures started being put in place that made it harder to do so and some programs (I.E. Vlc) nowadays outright refuse to even RUN if you are root, unfortunately this lack of being able to log into a gui as root is one stumbling block for would be windows converts who have been brought up on the mindset that you need administrative privileges to do anything useful on a machine (since microsoft until reletively recently encouraged such a train of though, and even now their implementation of temporary privilege escalation instead of being always admin leaves sommat to be desired)

either way, I torched my machine countless times in the learning process (something that might have been avoided had i not been always running as root), You are of course free to torch your machine as many times as you wish (it's your machine afterall), just don't come crying to us that the train crashed because you put a suitcase on the dead man switch and went to the bathroom while the train was moving.