Hi, and a merry Christmas to all.

I'm an openSuSE user and so new to Ubuntu. But I like to try new things, so I installed 10.4 and soon after upgraded to 10.10.

Problems started with 10.4 which didn't accept the root password after a few logins. I had to finally reset it with the installation CD and then immediately I upgraded.

Now I can log in as normal user and as root (console and graphical login). When I start e.g. Catalyst administrative center or click on ksyslog I get popups asking for my password. Popups accepts neither my nor root's password.

What might cause this and how to rectify it?

Not recommended. The normal (today's) approach is to not allow the Root to log in at all, unless needed for admin stuff (upgrades, installs, console) and then only if the machine asks such login and only when logged in a normal user - I suspect a conflict between userrights...

What I suggest is to re-reset (so to speak) to the 10.10 way. Then, log in a user, and if needed switch to Root to give the user the rights required.

It's bad practice (in my very humble opinion) to allow Root to log in through the "front door" at all...

Good luck and merry christmas...

Thor

The root account is locked in Ubuntu, you should use sudo as described here:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

Good morning and a merry Christmas to you, too, Thor_2.0 & snowpine.

The two of you missed the point. I can, I am able, I have the ability to log in as root and as user .

I am, too, aware of Ubuntu's focus on sudo. I personally prefer to be able to log in at a console. So things are (from my point of view) as they should be, but I realize that this is a point of philosophy. Each to his own devices, so to speak.

What I can not do is exactly this:

When the machine asks, it accepts neither the user's password nor root's e.g. for the Catalyst administrative center or ksyslog. But these are the passwords it accepts for a login.

What can cause this and how to clear it up?

...or, this is the Linux way, all in all it is YOUR box

Okay, how about an experiment (humor me if you will) - log in as Root and see if you can use Catalyst/Ksyslog ... try the same as normal user. I suspec the latter to need a password. If not, I think there's something about access rights that needs to be set right...

I'll keep this thread on the radar, it's too interesting not to

Thor

1 members found this post helpful.

No need to make it a philosophical debate; try to look at it from an engineering perspective: Ubuntu simply isn't designed to be used that way. If you use unsupported root login, there may be unintended consequences. On the other hand if you follow the easy instructions I linked to in post #3, you'll have smooth sailing. As you point out, it is your choice and freedom.

2 members found this post helpful.

Worked as predicted. At least with root, I was in a hurry and forgot user. Will try that, too. I did not download Ksyslog as root, though...

@ snowpine Currently I can login as root without my changing anything in the system settings (don't know enough about Ubuntu anyways).

Before I reset that ability as suggested in your link, I'll try to find out what gives in the current situation. And then I'll have to get used to all that sudo . I'll read your link in depth and see how that works later. Thanks for your input .

1. What title has this "popups asking for your password"?
2. Try runing "Catalyst administrative center" with "gksudo".
3. Can you post output of running "Catalyst administrative center" from console after refusing password (you must set DISPLAY environment variable, if it is not set already).

Ubuntu is not the only one that if you use the pam hack to login to the gui as root , then some things WILL NOT work right

an example of this is:
1)
root login to gnome
2)
run something that NEEDS root authentication
-- like System-config-services
a pop up will pop up asking for the ROOT password ( even though you ARE logged in AS root )
the pop-up WILL NOT except the password - it won't .

do not login as root into the GUI
plain and simple
or if you do EXPECT THINGS NOT TO WORK RIGHT .

1 members found this post helpful.

@ Thor_2.0 Didn't I say one shouldn't do things in a hurry? Ah well. Of course I did it already as normal user. As stated in post #1 with problems as described there ("...I get popups asking for my password. Popups accepts neither my nor root's password.") .

It has no real title bar. It just reads Upon entering the password the popup reads

Note that this is the output from just one single try. When I repeat this with the root password the same happens. After a third attempt I get


What do you mean by this? Gksudo must be used from console, mustn't it? I did that in your previous suggestion #2. Btw. DISPLAY is set to ":0".

Please, John. I stated in the very first post that I am new to Ubuntu. Which means that I did not change anything and I don't use any "hacks". This is the unadultered behavior of the system as installed.

I mean I logged in on a console. I.e. I pressed <Ctrl><Alt><F2> and got a non graphical login screen where I tested whether the root password works. It does. After that I tried of course the graphical login for root. Works too. There I have no problems using the catalyst center or ksyslog. I want to do this as a normal user as intended by Ubuntu, but I can't. Please leave aside sudo-using-or-not-using-philosophy I simply want the system working as intended by the Ubuntu-team.

Default Ubuntu install does not have a "root password."
Default Ubuntu install does not support "graphical login for root."
You have obviously "adultured" your Ubuntu system and are not using it "as intended by the Ubuntu-team."

If you say so ... but how?

Let's try this differently. How would I go about it trying to set up a root password and enable graphical login? I mean, what could I have done to enable all this? I can't honestly remember doing anything out of the order (but I come from openSuSE, maybe something what is there absolute routine but causes havoc here... ).

And other "sudo" apllications also cannot accept password? For example, can you try: "gksudo nautilus", "sudo apt-get update", etc. If all sudo not accept your password, check "/etc/sudoers" file. You can post it, or find if you have this line Also check that you are in group "admin" by command "groups".

Yes. I plead guilty, your honor. And I abjectly ask your forgiveness, John_VV, for wrongly insisting that I didn't do nothing .

This is how I reconstruct what happened:

As stated in this very thread, there was no root password in the beginning. I wanted to do something with the system early on when I still had 10.04 Natty. And since I could not become root I did as stated in post #1:

And I upgraded. It was not the re-install I commonly use with openSuSE, so the system kept those changes.

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Okay, I guess this can be rectified.

<edit> Please note that there is one more post on the next page...</edit>