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**ardvark71** · Apr 11, 2012, 10:37 AM

Hi....

Does this page help with setting up a root account?

Also. you probably should remove your e-mail address lest someone should obtain it for spamming purposes...

Regards...

**arochester** · Apr 11, 2012, 11:08 AM

1) There are commands for finding things, to be used in Konsole Terminal Program. Two that are particularly useful is "which" which shows the main executable and "whereis" which shows various occurances e.g. which pidgin - produces /usr/bin/pidgin and whereis pidgin - produces pidgin: /usr/bin/pidgin /usr/lib/pidgin /usr/share/man/man1/pidgin.1.gz Try : which kdrmrc - and whereis kdrmrc

2) Try using Dolphin File Manager to navigate towards your goal, kdrmrc, to see if it is there at all

3) When you are using a GUI based application you normally use the command: kdesudo or kdesu. One of the easiest explanations is at: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/graphicalsudo That way, (and it just might not be there!!!) so the command should be: kdesudo kate /etc/kde3/kdm/kdrmrc

**oshunluvr** · Apr 11, 2012, 11:44 AM

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking for but I think it's to log in as root? You need only give root a password (since you've already fixed kdm). Log in as your admin user, open a terminal and enter:

sudo passwd root

enter the password, and log out. You should then be able to log in as root. This is not enabled by default in Ubuntu varities because it is deemed a dangerous and unnecessary practice - a point I agree with. However, you are a grown up and the only data you have to trash is your own. Be careful!

As far as using sudo to launch a program - as arochester pointed out - you should never launch a GUI program using sudo. kdesudo is the correct and safe way for graphical programs. sudo is only for command line programs. Your example:

sudo kate /etc/kde3/kdm/kdrmrc

should have been

kdesudo kate /etc/kde3/kdm/kdrmrc

or to use a non-gui editor like nano

sudo nano /etc/kde3/kdm/kdrmrc

**Shabakthanai** · Apr 11, 2012, 11:46 AM

I have somehow lost my ability to login to my computer. Until I either get my password restored or reinstall my OS for the 5th time due to this problem, I will not be able to continue this post.

For those who are unwilling to share their knowledge of how to establish a Root User account, is the damage I could cause myself by having a 'Root User' account potentially greater than having to reinstall the OS 5 or more times? And, whatever security issues are created by using a Root User Login, do those issues continue to prevail when I login using my 'steven' user account?

**dibl** · Apr 11, 2012, 12:02 PM

Originally posted by Shabakthanai View Post

I have somehow lost my ability to login to my computer.

That is one of the typical results of running GUI packages with "sudo", or running the X server as root -- that's part of what makes it such a bad idea.

#10 on my "Top 20" (link in my signature) provides guidance on how to fix it -- it is not necessary to reinstall Kubuntu just because of that problem.

If you need to run any of your KDE packages, such as Kate, with root privileges for the purpose of editing a configuration file, use Alt-F2 and enter "kdesudo kate" without the quote marks. Browse to the configuration file that you need to edit, make the edits, save the file, and immediately exit Kate. But --- DO NOT edit anything in your user's home folder while you are working as root. Exit the root mode kate session as soon as you have finished doing the configuration edits.

**wizard10000** · Apr 11, 2012, 12:43 PM

Originally posted by Shabakthanai View Post

...For those who are unwilling to share their knowledge of how to establish a Root User account, is the damage I could cause myself by having a 'Root User' account potentially greater than having to reinstall the OS 5 or more times? And, whatever security issues are created by using a Root User Login, do those issues continue to prevail when I login using my 'steven' user account?

I think what's more important is that both the software vendor and several people here with a significant level of experience have mentioned that it's a bad idea. That most likely means it's a bad idea

Believe me, I mean no disrespect - but the idea that your issues can be resolved by a graphical login as root is exactly the reason why people are hesitant to assist.

**Snowhog** · Apr 11, 2012, 12:52 PM

Originally posted by Shabakthanai View Post

For those who are unwilling to share their knowledge of how to establish a Root User account,

'Unwilling'? Not sure where you picked up that feeling. I don't believe that anyone here in KFN is unwilling to share their knowledge on this subject. Discourage it? Surely, because as experienced *buntu users, we understand the inherent risk involved that less experienced users (not implying that you are less experienced) (most likely) don't understand. That said, all you, or any other member here, has to do is search with Google (or your preferred search engine) to find the information. It isn't hidden.

RootSudo

Background Information

In Linux (and Unix in general), there is a SuperUser named Root. The Windows equivalent of Root is Administrators group. The SuperUser can do anything and everything, and thus doing daily work as the SuperUser can be dangerous. You could type a command incorrectly and destroy the system. Ideally, you run as a user that has only the privileges needed for the task at hand. In some cases, this is necessarily Root, but most of the time it is a regular user.

**james147** · Apr 11, 2012, 06:56 PM

Originally posted by Shabakthanai View Post

I just need to open in root for a couple of configuration changes.

This can be done with out logging in as root using sudo and or kdesudo.

I want to change the Login Screen. My computer seems to download alternate screens, however they do not appear as options after downloading them...

This is a bug, a work around is to run "kdesudo kcmshell4 kdm" and downloading them in that window (it will open kdm's config as root... no need to launch a root session or unlock the root account).

I also have a problem that no one has been able to help me with that may be resolvable in a Root environment.

Unlikely, I have yet to see a problem that cannot be solved by sudo or kdesudo.

I have two monitors, 27 1/2" and 22" operating in twin view. I was able to get mythtv installed, however, the resolution was 3600x1080. The result was viewing people who appeared similar to dwarfs in appearance. Trying to get the system to use the appropriate resolution of 1920x1080 was unavailable as an option. When I attempted to force the configuration, it caused my system to crash. Since that time, I have not been able to get Mythtv to function in my computer.

I have a similar setup and have experienced problems with it as well. The problem is with nvidia's twinview making both screens look like one big screen. Some applications like plasma and kwin are able to cope with this, but others (like full screen games) cannot. I have no experience with mythtv but you can configure X to have some extra meta modes so you can switch between them. Adding something like:

Code:

Option         "MetaModes" "1920x1080,1920x1080;NULL,1920x1080;1920x1080,NULL"

to the screen section in xorg.conf will allow you to switch between using both screens and only using one. I have not been able to find a better work around for this problem beyond not using fullscreen games/apps that cannot handle twinview.

I have crashed and had to reinstall my OS 4 times trying to solve this problem, so if attempting to change these two problems in a root environment causes me to crash once more, that is an acceptable risk to me.

This was likly caused by you using sudo when you shouldn't be for example;

sudo kate /etc/kde3/kdm/kdrmrc

This is one command that in the past has locked people out of their desktop and is why sudo for graphical apps is HIGHLY discouraged (use kdesudo or gksu instead if you really need to at all).

I am the only one who is affected when my computer is down, so withholding this information to protect me from myself is not necessary. I would be happy to sign a waiver from responsibility to the person who helps me, if that is required.

Its not so much we are withholding information from you because it can affect other people, we are doing it because its just a stupid and unneeded thing to do... Epically if you don't under stand the problem you are trying to fix (which you don't if you think this is a viable route).

I love the Kubuntu Operating System. But, I am getting pretty old and may not live long enough to solve this problem by trial and error. Nonetheless I am stubborn when it comes to resolving a problem. I will continue to be relentless in trying to fix these problems. That means I will probably have to reinstall the OS many times while experimenting on an issue that is political in nature among Kubuntu gurus. What happened to the 'free' in open source? I promise to not complain if having this ability causes me to crash my computer. So you know that I was able to amend my system to be able to run a root GUI prior to Kubuntu 12.04 (a nature that I only used for situations like this), here is what I did:

sudo kate /etc/kde3/kdm/kdrmrc, find the line that says "AllowRootLogins=false", replace "false" with "true" (no quotes). Save the file, log out, then log back in again as root. This doesn't work in Kubuntu 12.04. Entering kde4 in the place of kde3, when kdrmrc opens. it appears as an empty file.

Isn't it a bit ingenuous for someone who knows how to do what I ask, to reserve that capability for himself, outside the open source tradition. I am 69 years old and won't have time to learn this process through experimentation before I die. It is not fair that I am unable to enjoy the benefits of such a fine system like those who have this technical ability. Thanks for a little compassion from anyone who will share this knowledge.

Should you know how to fix the problems I want this ability for, I would be happy to settle for that information.

Now, I do agree in part, the great thing about linux is the ability to do what you want... and I have tried to give you solutions to your problems without resorting to giving you a full root login... however if you really feel the need for this I can explain how. So my question is, do you still think you require a full root login?

**Shabakthanai** · Apr 11, 2012, 07:00 PM

dibl

I am sure that misuse of Root User did not cause loss of my login password. I haven't been able to establish a 'Root User' account yet, so how could that have caused the loss of login password.

You are a treasure to this forum and have saved my bacon several times in the past. We both know that I am not very capable as a computer user and couldn't survive without the kindness of the gurus of the forum.

To keep from putting enmity between me and the collective you, I will stop requesting help with this problem on this forum. It makes me a bit sad though, because even though I am intellectually limited when it comes to computers, I strongly believe Root User capability will solve my Login Screen problem; it did in the past.

I also think it is possible that changing the screen resolution problem using a Root GUI may succeed.

**woodsmoke** · Apr 11, 2012, 07:02 PM

I got lost in the intricacies of the previous posts, but, fundamentally, since I am not a CLI kinda guy, when i need to do "root" stuff, I install Konqueror, and then, using the terminal I "sudo Konqueror" and I can thereby edit just about any file that I, with my limited knowledge, have the ability to edit without bricking the system.

which means....I don't do much using root! lol

However, to expand, the aforementioned technique has the wonderful characteristic of allowing people who might "mistype" something to "physically/visually" NAVIGATE to the "file/script/whatever" and to be able to open it, view it in it's entireity, change a single line or word, and save. One can also completely copy the file save it in a text editor and if the system is not completely bricked but the changed item did not "work" one can simply copy the previous text back into the file.

Which is somewhat similar to the "auto backup" that is done by Kate etc.

And, as a comment in general, I don't know why this method is not used by more people. If anyone would care to comment thereupon I would appreciate reading the comments.

woodsmoke

**james147** · Apr 11, 2012, 07:24 PM

Originally posted by Shabakthanai View Post

I am sure that misuse of Root User did not cause loss of my login password.

You have already admitted to running "sudo kate..." which is known to cause problems such as the login loop (you keep getting kicked to kdm after a successful login). I have seen many people experience this problem which is why you should use kdesudo instead if you want to run a program as root. See http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-165957.html for more info.

I haven't been able to establish a 'Root User' account yet, so how could that have caused the loss of login password.

But you have been using root...

I also think it is possible that changing the screen resolution problem using a Root GUI may succeed.

I have explained why this wont help, its a problem with metamodes not configured in X, logging in as root wont solve this, you need to edit xorg.conf (kdesudo kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf) and add the meta modes to the screen section as my last post explained. Then when you next start X you will be able to disable one of the monitors in kde as a normal user.

To keep from putting enmity between me and the collective you, I will stop requesting help with this problem on this forum.

It makes me a bit sad though, because even though I am intellectually limited when it comes to computers, I strongly believe Root User capability will solve my Login Screen problem; it did in the past.[/QUOTE] If you strongly believe that root will magically solve your problems then fine... but you have been warned. To enable a root login in kdm there are a couple of things that need to be done, first give root a password.

By default root dose not have a password on kubuntu but is instead a locked account. This stop most automated remote attacks as they generally brute force weak root password (guessing other user names is to hard)... But to set a root password enter "sudo passwd" in a terminal and enter a password for root. You can test it by typing "su -" in a terminal to get a root shell. (Again, this is strongly discouraged as it is just not needed, you can get a root shell without setting a root password with "sudo -s").

Next you need to set kdm to allow root logins, which you seem to have mostly figured out, you just need the location of the kdmrc file. Mine is located at /usr/share/config/kdm/kdmrc, but I am not on a kubuntu box atm, run 'find / -iname "kdmrc"' or "locate kdmrc" to try to find it. Then restart kdm.

Again, I strongly advise against this as it should not be needed. And I probably wont be able to help with any problems you encounter by doing thing.

**james147** · Apr 11, 2012, 07:30 PM

Originally posted by woodsmoke View Post

I got lost in the intricacies of the previous posts, but, fundamentally, since I am not a CLI kinda guy, when i need to do "root" stuff, I install Konqueror, and then, using the terminal I "sudo Konqueror" and I can thereby edit just about any file that I, with my limited knowledge, have the ability to edit without bricking the system.

which means....I don't do much using root! lol

However, to expand, the aforementioned technique has the wonderful characteristic of allowing people who might "mistype" something to "physically/visually" NAVIGATE to the "file/script/whatever" and to be able to open it, view it in it's entireity, change a single line or word, and save. One can also completely copy the file save it in a text editor and if the system is not completely bricked but the changed item did not "work" one can simply copy the previous text back into the file.

Which is somewhat similar to the "auto backup" that is done by Kate etc.

And, as a comment in general, I don't know why this method is not used by more people. If anyone would care to comment thereupon I would appreciate reading the comments.

woodsmoke

My general rule is to run as few programs as root as possible. Since konqueror is only used to browse folders you should be able to get away with running it as root, then launching the editor as root (kdesudo kate <file>). There are service menu availble for konq and dolphin that allow you to do this from within them (ie run them as a normal user then right click a file > edit as root).

The major problem with doing what you mentioned is its much easier to accidently move or delete something you didn't want to since konq or dolphin running as root can do anything it wants to without question.

**woodsmoke** · Apr 11, 2012, 07:34 PM

Hi James147

I would greatly like for you to expand on this sentence from your post. Did you mean to say that the "Konqueror" system, in and of itself, can change things?

konq or dolphin running as root can do anything it wants to without question.

woodsmoke

**Snowhog** · Apr 11, 2012, 07:40 PM

Both are 'file browsers' and as such, if launched with sudo, permit the user to seriously screw up ones entire system -- without any warnings given.

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Need to run GUI in root Kubuntu 12.04

Need to run GUI in root Kubuntu 12.04

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