i recently installed mandrake linux 9.2 on my computer, i set up a user account called 'james' with a password and i set up the root user with no password (im the only person with access to the computer), when i try installing some programs it tries installing to 'file:/usr/local' but when i click continue or next on the installation program it says.. Access is denied to whatever23432 it also occurs when i try installing programs outside file:/home/james, i want to be able to install programs anyway from my user james account, help required asap.. thanks in advance.

You can only install programs from the root account. You should set the root password right now.

so u can just login to your root account install the program then? can u stay in the root account or do you log back in to the user account.

You should only log into the root account when you need to do system admin tasks (such as installing software). The reason the root account exists is so you (as the normal user) can't accidentaly alter any essential system files or settings. Linux files and directories all have user read-write-execute permissions set; the most important files can only be accessed by root, others have various settings. It's a great security feature, because it guards against your own accidental screw-ups, against other people changing system settings, and against malicious software you may happen to download. You can set your root password from the terminal (as root) with:
Regards,

so when i want to install programs from my user account, i could log into the root account via the terminal, start the program installation, make the directory in a location the program installer specifies and continue the installation??