ok so i just installed linux for my first time today, ive never used it in my life and i have noone to help me.

once i installed linux and got it running i grabbed the graphics card driver off the net by using someones laptop, then put it on the new linux desktop and tried to run it it said i had to run it in root.

so i tried logging in as root, i used my password and no password,both attempts failed.

then i accessed the terminal and used the su - command, as well as su - root (9keep in mind i have no clue what im doiing... i was fallowing directions from someone else who only partially knows linux) both attemtps failed. i have no clue how to access root.

i have attemtped looking this problem up on the forums or just using google and people have mention ed in other peoples questions that it should or usually asks me to create a password for root, i was never prompted to do this and i have no clue what to do about it or how to access root so i can actually install things and connect to the net and everything. someone please help me out on this, i am a complete linux newb and this is just like speaking another language to me at this point

Ok first up we need to know what "Linux" you installed?

If it was Ubuntu then there is no root account as such, but the first account you created, namely yours, as root access.

Just type sudo and then a command to run a command as root.

Or type:

sudo -i

and password to login as root.

Lets get this done before we worry about graphics cards and drivers.

Which video driver program did you download. The NVidia drivers need to be run in single user mode as root. The Xorg server can not be running.

You need to indicate the distro you are installed because some use different run levels, but you should be able to enter "S" or "single" as an option when booting to get there. Some distro's will use the same password for root as the first user if you simply click through during the installation, so we can't really guess without more information.

In the meantime,if you edit your /etc/xorg.conf file and use the "vesa" driver, you can run you system normally with this generic driver, and not need to use your friends computer to browse or download files.