[plug] Suse root

[Craig Ringer]

doodli wrote:

> New to Linux so be gentle. Somehow I have managed to stop myself from 
> logging on as root. OS is Suse 9.2 . The login screen now only allows 
> ordinary users to login, no root login allowed. While in some ways I 
> suppose this is OK it is also got me buggered what I did to cause it. 
> This is in KDE desktop, I can still press CTRL +ALT +F2 and log in 
> there as root and also konsole allows su , so it is only KDE that is 
> being difficult to get on with.
> Any suggestions gratefully received.

It'll be by design and is the correct, and safe, behaviour. Logging in 
as root for a full GUI session is unsafe.

You should either use sudo (which may or may not be installed and 
configured by default), rely on the admin tools to prompt you for root 
access when they need it (most of them should), or log in as root on a 
text console. To do the latter, press CTRL-ALT-F1 (to F6) to get to a 
text console, then log in at the prompt. No graphical administration 
tools will run when logged in on a text console, so it's probably not 
what you want unless you're quite familar with the system or feel the 
need to become so in a hurry.

In general you shouldn't have to worry about actually logging in as 
root, because the gui admin tools can usually prompt you for access, and 
you can use a text console or an Xterm with sudo or `su' to get root 
access for the command line.

--
Craig Ringer