Im new to Linux and am not too sure about this concept. Do ALL linux distros. make the passwd file shadowed by default? Is there anyway I can change the setting so my /etc/passwd file is no shadowed on my server?

No, in Slackware you have to type........
on the command line to set up shadowed PW.

Is there anyway I can change the setting so my /etc/passwd file is no shadowed on my server?
man pwunconv, but AFAIK there are no good reasons to do so.
If you have good reasons to do so, please post them.

well i guess I had to learn the hardway not to mess around with passwd files. What I did was get a passwd file from another server which was shadowed, made a backup of my own passwd, then replaced it with that one. after ran the command u gave me to unshadow it. and then copy it somewhere else then replace it with my old one. But for some reason everything got screwed up and it wouldnt let me login with my own info even tho I had replaced the passwd file :S now just out of curiosity, the method i mentioned above, will it actually work if done properly? or you cant replace passwd files. Im a linux newbie and am just trying new things. please let me know.
thanks

well i was just reading on some stuff and now im kicking myself in the ass for being stupid.. I figured out that the commands u told me, uses the /etc/shadow file in order to unshadow the /etc/passwd. So forget what i said up there. Very stupid method :S i dont know what i was thinking