software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

[tomcloyd]

In the past several days, when an updates-available notification has appeared in the system tray, and I click it, then when I click the Apply button I get a message window telling me I don't have permission to do this - the update. I have a screen shot of this message, if that would help diagnose the problem. What's supposed to happen - what has always happened until very recently - is that I get a window appear which asked my for the administrative password. This is no longer happening.

I have twice had to go to the CLI and use "apt-get upgrade" to accomplish the update.

What the blink is going on? Any ideas?

t.

[GilGib]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

Under Kickoff-Applications-System-Kde User Manager add groups to your user Adm, Admin... etc

[tomcloyd]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

Under Kickoff-Applications-System-Kde User Manager add groups to your user Adm, Admin... etc

Well, I can't seem to figure out how to do that. I also don't understand "add groups". Groups of what?

I have attached a screenshot showing the only thing I could find which addresses users. Trouble is, it really is a User Manager, I think. I can't seem to find that anywhere. There isn't one in System Settings. In System Settings > KDE Resources, there is actually very little, and nothing like a user manager at all. Any idea what I'm doing wrong (if anything)?

[GilGib]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

User-Manager click on user find your user login Click on it then you user information will open. Then select groups at the top of your user information add checkmark the groups that will be added to your user.

Example add ADM,ADMIN, Plugdev,SUDO,Kmem

[dibl]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

It's pretty old, but you might want to take a look at reply #3 on this thread:

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=11612

[tomcloyd]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

It's pretty old, but you might want to take a look at reply #3 on this thread:

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=11612

Thanks, but I have to say that is beyond absurd. I have to twiddle with a system config. file, using a CLI command - "# This file MUST be edited with the 'visudo' command as root." - to get the general OS update routine to do what it should do off the shelf

I'm wondering why there isn't a routine one could run that would check such files to see that they are set to at least the default level of functionality, offering to fix problems it finds. This would make troubleshooting a lot easier. Or am I, in my great ignorance, being really simply minded

Edit from the command line? How is that even possible? Well, better to find out. Hope I don't shoot a hole in my foot.

[tomcloyd]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

User-Manager clicl on user find your user login Click on it then you user information will open. Then select groups at the top of your user information add checkmark the groups that will be added to your user.

Example add ADM,ADMIN, Plugdev,SUDO,Kmem

"User-Manager clicl on user find your user login" Huh? I can't figure out what you're trying to say.

"Click on it". I clicked on everything I could find on that page, and got nothing remotely related to user information. Zero.

Am still very open to suggestion - and thanks for your help.

[dibl]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

Edit from the command line? How is that even possible?

nano worked fine, last time i used it.

sudo apt-get install nano

[tomcloyd]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

OK, that was interesting. Never used a command line editor before, and it wasn't awful. On the other hand, visudo wouldn't let me add anything to the file. It always found a parse error. Given the dire warning of what the consequences were of not respecting THAT, I froze in my tracks. I also couldn't get past the problem, sadly.

I was trying to add the "timestamp_timeout=0", as advised in reply #3 of the thread to which you referred me. I did a cut and paste, and it was a no go. I tried placing it several places. Yes, I got in with "sudo visudo", so that's not the issue.

I don't what to do to go further with this approach. Any suggestions?

[vinnywright]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

ok I got one.......a suggestion eneyway.

open a terminal and type

id

and hit enter.

this will list your user name your UID AND the groups your in..........now see if your in the adm and admin groups if not go back to the terminal and type

sudo adduser yourusername admin

and hit enter.

and you will be in the admin group

VINNY

PS hear have a look

vinny@Kubuntu:~$ id
uid=1000(vinny) gid=1000(vinny) groups=0(root),4(adm),20(dialout),21(fax),24(cdrom ),25(floppy),27(sudo),29(audio),30(dip),44(video), 46(plugdev),
50(staff),100(users),103(syslog),105(scanner),107( fuse),109(lpadmin),114(admin),120(sambashare),1000 (vinny)

vinny@Kubuntu:~$ sudo adduser vinny admin
[sudo] password for vinny:
The user `vinny' is already a member of `admin'.
vinny@Kubuntu:~$

SEE

[dibl]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

vinny's suggestion is a good one and worth doing.

Back to visudo. I forgot (I only ever used it once, 3 years ago ....). In the Konsole

sudo su

to become root, then

visudo -f /etc/sudoers

to edit the file.

the interface is a nano-like text editor -- it's obvious that Ctrl-O saves and Ctrl-X exits. You'll have to do a "save as", i.e. Ctrl-O and save it with a different name, then rename it back to /etc/sudoers with the

sudo mv

command.

Check

man visudo

for more details.

[tomcloyd]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

RESPONSE TO VINNY -

Aha. The plot thickens:

$ id
uid=1000(tomc) gid=1000(tomc) groups=4(adm),20(dialout),24(cdrom),46(plugdev),11 2(lpadmin),119(admin),120(sambashare),1000(tomc)

Unless I misread this, the problem is not that I'm not in the admin group. Got that right?

If so...we have some other kind of problem, and doing what Vinny suggests will matter not. Ditto for doing the visudo thing.

Reactions

[vinnywright]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

do the thing for editing the sudoers file.

I once did that with a GUI Kedit I think .......eneyway it was opend as root when I did it
and on a slakware type distro .................

VINNY

[tomcloyd]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

OK, following dibl's suggestion (reply 10) to the letter, then rebooting, I find that nothing's changed. Using the update applet (?) to try to respond to an update notification, I get told I don't have sufficient privileges.

Going to the CLI, here's what happens:

tomc@tomc-desktop:~/Ruby-work/graphviz/edens_graphs$ sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo: /etc/sudoers is mode 0644, should be 0440
tomc@tomc-desktop:~/Ruby-work/graphviz/edens_graphs$ sudo dolphin
sudo: /etc/sudoers is mode 0644, should be 0440
tomc@tomc-desktop:~/Ruby-work/graphviz/edens_graphs$ sudo su
sudo: /etc/sudoers is mode 0644, should be 0440
tomc@tomc-desktop:~/Ruby-work/graphviz/edens_graphs$

And then, again -
$ id
uid=1000(tomc) gid=1000(tomc) groups=4(adm),20(dialout),24(cdrom),46(plugdev),11 2(lpadmin),119(admin),120(sambashare),1000(tomc)

UPDATE [2009.06.10:1347 -7 utc] - I have fixed the problem described below. Got into OS Recovery Mode (first time), and removed the "timestamp_timeout=0" line from "/etc/sudoers", and was able to boot into normal mode and use apt-get to "upgrade" the OS. So now I'm back to exactly where I was when I started this thread.

So, it appears I cannot now even gain admin. access.

Here's my sudoers file:

tomc@tomc-desktop:/etc$ ls su*
sudoers
tomc@tomc-desktop:/etc$ cat sudoers
# /etc/sudoers
#
# This file MUST be edited with the 'visudo' command as root.
#
# See the man page for details on how to write a sudoers file.
#

Defaults env_reset
timestamp_timeout=0
# Host alias specification

# User alias specification

# Cmnd alias specification

# User privilege specification
root ALL=(ALL) ALL

# Uncomment to allow members of group sudo to not need a password
# (Note that later entries override this, so you might need to move
# it further down)
# %sudo ALL=NOPASSWD: ALL

# Members of the admin group may gain root privileges
%admin ALL=(ALL) ALL
tomc@tomc-desktop:/etc$


Suggestions, please?

[vinnywright]

Re: software update sys tray applet won't give me permission to update

hears mine.

vinny@Kubuntu:~$ cat /etc/sudoers   
# /etc/sudoers             
#                   
# This file MUST be edited with the 'visudo' command as root.
#
# See the man page for details on how to write a sudoers file.
#

Defaults    env_reset

# Uncomment to allow members of group sudo to not need a password
# %sudo ALL=NOPASSWD: ALL

# Host alias specification

# User alias specification

# Cmnd alias specification

# User privilege specification
root  ALL=(ALL) ALL

# Members of the admin group may gain root privileges
%admin ALL=(ALL) ALL
vinny@Kubuntu:~$

not to diferent.....exept for .....timestamp_timeout=0 ............on yours mabey try removing that.......and reordering the file to match mine.

VINNY