[SOLVED] Ubuntu dual boot

TEC.Turtle · 02-04-2011, 06:07 PM

I have windows 7 and ubuntu 10.04 on my laptop. when I attempt to update it sits at authenticating after I hit cancel it updates. Also it will not let me create users. I get that I need to be loggeded in as root But it will not except my password when I try to switch users to root.

stress_junkie · 02-04-2011, 07:17 PM

You add users by clicking on System at the top of the screen. The click on Administration, then click on Users and Groups. When it asks you for a password you enter your normal user password.

TEC.Turtle · 02-04-2011, 07:41 PM

So you cant use adduser on the command line?

stress_junkie · 02-04-2011, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEC.Turtle

So you cant use adduser on the command line?

You can but it is easier to use the GUI application.

Command line version:

Code:

sudo adduser -m <newuser>
sudo passwd newuser

When sudo asks for a password you enter your normal user password.
If you enter the second command right away then sudo will not ask you for a password for that second invocation.

<newuser> should be replaced with the actual name of the new user account.

TEC.Turtle · 02-04-2011, 07:59 PM

Ok then here is the deal when I add a new user it ask's for my password when I put it in it tells me that it is not a valid password. I know it is. I've used Ubuntu for the past 6 months so I've done this before but this is the first machine I've used duel boot and it seems to be doing things like this. Is there an issue with duel boot? Or is it just me?

stress_junkie · 02-04-2011, 08:02 PM

It has nothing to do with dual boot. Once the Linux kernel is running then neither the boot loader nor Windows has any effect on the running Linux system.

Do you use your password to log on when you turn the machine on? I only ask because if your machine automatically logs you on then it is possible that you have forgotten your password.

TEC.Turtle · 02-04-2011, 08:16 PM

Nope I never let it just log on. It just seems to have an issue with autenticating my password when I do any administrative stuff. Are there any logs I can check?

stress_junkie · 02-04-2011, 08:22 PM

It is possible that your normal user account is no longer allowed to use sudo. Unfortunately if that is true then it will be difficult to fix. You need to be a member of an admin group to fix things like this.

Try this. Open a terminal window and enter the following command.

Code:

groups

You should see a list of user groups similar to this.

Quote:

adm dialout cdrom floppy plugdev users lpadmin admin

In Ubuntu any account that is a member of the admin user group is allowed to use sudo.

TEC.Turtle · 02-04-2011, 08:39 PM

Thanks for the help I figured out what I was doing. I was using su root instead of sudo sh.