On Tue, 2006-09-19 at 16:42 +0200, Hylton Conacher(ZR1HPC) wrote:

...

Hi list!

I was told that I´t wasn´t good to alow root logins (I´m new to Suse). I then used YAST to click ~"don´t alow root logins" thinking I would be able to "su" when I needed to be root. I then found out that "su" doesn´t work so I tried "sudo" instead, but that doesn´t work either.

Is there any way for me to enter my current system as root now/again? When you used su to be root what was the exact command you issued as

Peo Nilsson wrote: there are two, both with different results. Both

I execute ´su´ and then the bash shell asks for root password, when I type in the correct password the shell responds with ´incorrect password´. I´m 100% sure that the password I type is correct. Now I also have tried ´su root´ with the same result.

Plain 'su' or 'su root' when you are a user will ask you for the root password and change your command prompt fro a $ to a #. However the path used will still be the same as the user you are su'ing from ie it will not include the locations root needs to execute commands.

If you do 'su -' it will again ask for the root password and change your coammnd prompt from a $ to a #. Now however, because of the dash, you are using roots path anf therefore the root programs you try and execute will work as they are able to access the required libraries they need fro the locations listed in the PATH.

For more reading, please see 'info su'.

HTH

Regards Hylton -- ======================================================================== Currently using unpatched SuSE 9.2 Professional with KDE and Mozilla 1.7.2 Linux user # 229959 at http://counter.li.org ========================================================================

/Peo

On Wednesday 20 September 2006 02:13, Darryl Gregorash wrote:

On 20/09/06 00:02, Peo Nilsson wrote:

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<snip>

I execute ´su´ and then the *bash* shell asks for root password, when I type in the correct password the shell responds with ´incorrect password´. I´m 100% sure that the password I type is correct. Now I also have tried ´su root´ with the same result.

Boot into runlevel 1 (at the grub or lilo prompt, just type a '1', then <enter>). You should be prompted for the root password when the system comes up -- if it won't take here, you are truly out of luck.

Hi Darryl, Wouldn't entering 'init=/bin/bash' (no quotes) at the grub boot menu result in the system booting to a working shell with root permissions? Carl

On 20/09/06 05:34, Carl Hartung wrote:

On Wednesday 20 September 2006 02:13, Darryl Gregorash wrote:

...

On 20/09/06 00:02, Peo Nilsson wrote:

...

<snip>

I execute ´su´ and then the *bash* shell asks for root password, when I type in the correct password the shell responds with ´incorrect password´. I´m 100% sure that the password I type is correct. Now I also have tried ´su root´ with the same result.

Boot into runlevel 1 (at the grub or lilo prompt, just type a '1', then <enter>). You should be prompted for the root password when the system comes up -- if it won't take here, you are truly out of luck.

Hi Darryl,

Wouldn't entering 'init=/bin/bash' (no quotes) at the grub boot menu result in the system booting to a working shell with root permissions? I have no idea; I've never investigated init's possibilities beyond entering a number :-)

* Peo Nilsson [09-20-06 19:27]:

When booting with: init=/bin/bash

...xxx... ==>(none):/# (none):/# whoami --> root

This seems to work. But when I run yast I can´t find any place where root login is forbidden...:-( I guess It´s just to edit a file directly in emacs (in the above "mode") to alow root logins again. Unfortunately I´m new to Suse Linux so I have no clue which file to make the change in???

when you reach login as above, you must change or remove root's password as you apparently are not using the password that the system expects. iirc: edit /etc/passwd find root you will see something like: root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash REMOVE the second field, x save run "passwd root " and enter the password you desire. -- Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535 http://wahoo.no-ip.org @ http://counter.li.org HOG # US1244711 Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2

On Wednesday 20 September 2006 20:51, Peo Nilsson wrote:

Boot with option: init=/bin/bash ==> (none):/# whoami ==> root

1) ´yast´ 2) Security and Users 2.1) User Management User and Group Management => Users Set Filter as "System Users. Choose ´root´ Choose ´edit´ Unmarke ´Disable User Login

==> Back in bussiness!

I realy would like to THANK you all for your help. Without your great help I would never have my "system back". The root password was not wrong, but the system told me that It was (when the right answere should be ´root login is not allowed´).

Glad to see you sorted it out, Peo! And thank you very much for posting a clear description of the problem *and* the solution that worked. Others will benefit when they run into the same problem. regards, Carl

When booting with: init=/bin/bash

...xxx... ==>(none):/# (none):/# whoami --> root

This seems to work. But when I run yast I can´t find any place where root login is forbidden...:-( I guess It´s just to edit a file directly in emacs (in the above "mode") to alow root logins again. Maybe try to run the passwd command to change it to a new passwd, and

Peo Nilsson wrote: try again. -- Joe Morris Registered Linux user 231871

On Tue, 2006-09-19 at 11:47 -0400, Carl Hartung wrote:

In what YaST module did you make this change? Tell me how to navigate there, starting from the main 'YaST Control Center' main menu. (I don't have time to track this down right now.)

Can´t use YaST as It is now (fully). Don´t remember exactly how I navigated without seeing YaST fully functional.

Can you explain what "doesn't work" means? Can you not login at all, as 'superuser' (with root permissions)? Or are the commands not functioning as expected?

When I type ´root´ as login name and the CORRECT password the shell says: ´Login incorrect´

Try switching to a text console (Ctl+Alt+F1 thru F6) and try logging in as root. If it works, run the command "yast" to launch YaST in ncurses (text) mode and reverse the change you made, above.

Same result as above. (´Login incorrect´)

This 'solution' is usually overly drastic and should be reserved as a "last resort" measure.

I realy hope I don´t have to (but I have a feeling that it will end up that way...)

regards,

Carl

On Thursday 21 September 2006 06:52, stephan beal wrote:

On Thursday 21 September 2006 00:02, Peo Nilsson wrote:

...

...

This 'solution' is usually overly drastic and should be reserved as a "last resort" measure.

I realy hope I don´t have to (but I have a feeling that it will end up that way...)

Nonono... use a Linux DVD and boot to a rescue system. Mount the hold root dir and edit the /etc/passwd file (under the old root, not the rescue root). Simply remove the password for root. Then you can boot up, log in, and change the password back.

Did you overlook this post? Or are you on dialup?: On Wednesday 20 September 2006 20:51, Peo Nilsson wrote: <snip>

Solution:

Boot with option: init=/bin/bash ==> (none):/# whoami ==> root

1) ´yast´ 2) Security and Users 2.1) User Management User and Group Management => Users Set Filter as "System Users. Choose ´root´ Choose ´edit´ Unmarke ´Disable User Login

==> Back in bussiness!

I realy would like to THANK you all for your help. Without your great help I would never have my "system back". The root password was not wrong, but the system told me that It was (when the right answere should be ´root login is not allowed´).

Carl

On Thursday 21 September 2006 12:31, stephan beal wrote:

The problem is that i read the posts in order of oldest-to-newest, and often get Suse mails in batches of 50+ (each morning there are *lots* of new posts), so i'm answering to stuff that's already been addressed.

Why don't you enable threading? You're running KMail 1.9.1, aren't you? KMail supports threading really well, so you can read threads in their entirety before responding. Carl