terminal

**rhddallas** · 02-22-2008

ok...
im trying to use terminal to shutdown the computer but when i type in
shutdown -r now
it says 'needed to be root'
any suggestions or comments?

**push** · 02-22-2008

try
su -c "shutdown -r now"

**hugortega** · 02-22-2008

-r option is for reboot... use -h to halt the computer:

Code:

sudo shutdown -h now

**devils casper** · 02-22-2008

Which Linux distro are you using?
Use sudo in Ubuntu or its variants and su - in other distros.

**rhddallas** · 02-22-2008

ok thanks.. ill try that...
and i know that -r does system restart and -h does halt or shutdown
i am using ubuntu tho...

**devils casper** · 02-22-2008

You should execute this to shutdown machine.

Code:

sudo shutdown -h now

Check this sticky on sudo.

**Manchunian** · 02-22-2008

Unix systems, by default, don't let a normal user shut down the computer. This is because Unix worked as a network, and so if any old Tom Dick or Harry could turn off the computer it could be a disaster.
If you don't like this behaviour, you can disable it quite easily by editing the sudoers file. Alternatively, and this was what I did (as I use Fluxbox and I didn't want to have to go to the log in screen every time I wanted to switch of the computer) you can change permissions on halt or shutdown to allow execution by anyone. This is what I did (in Debian):

Code:

cd /sbin/
chmod 0777 halt

This works very well for me.

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