Basic help logging in to Linux?!?!

[its-uk]

Hi

I work for a small IT support company how has recently taken over the support for a company who uses a Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 system. Unfortunately I have no experience of Linux whatsoever although I'm fairly up to speed with Windows Server and Novell Netware. I'm fairly confident that with a bit (or more likely a lot!) of reading and some fiddeling I'll be able to get my head around at least the basicx. However, I have one major problem - I can seem to login in to the Debian server correctly?!

On the server screen I am confronted by a DOS style command line prompting for a login. We have been given to administrator password from the previous support company but when I try to login it seems to work OK but then I am again instantly confronted by the same login prompt??

Upon entering the correct username and password (I know they are correct as when I type an incorrect password deliberately I get the message "Login incorrect") the server tells me when the last login was (this is what is leading me to assume I have logged in correctly) and then some text about the programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system being free software, a message that I have new mail but then the server reverts to the login prompt before I can type any other commands.

If anyone could point me in the right direction I'd be eternally gratefull!!!!

Thanks in advance....

Adam

[AndrewB]

What are you using as the user name?

Are you using root

or admin

use root

[genesus]

I had the same problem once; however, it was because I used the chpasswd file to change my root's default shell and made a type in the shell command. Only way that I could've fixed it is that I had another user in the wheel group that I could login with and make the corrections. See if they have a sudoable user account that they can let you log in with to fix the problems.

[logan5]

For security reasons, logging in as root through ssh (I assume this is what you are trying to do) is considered a bad idea. So by default ssh does not allow login from root. You can how ever login as a user and then use the “su –“command to Switch User to root. Once you login as a user, just issue the command “su –“ and you will be prompted for roots password.

Do some google searches on “logging in as root through ssh” and “switching users with the su command”

[muha]

start learning over here:
http://www.linuxcommand.org/