just installed, new user

I have some problems/ preference concerns

1. During installation, something weird occurred and for some reason I wasn't able to properly set a password for root(keyboard wasn't printing characters...), so at the moment, there is no password(I just hit enter). How can I change/ set it?

I also don't have any user logins(I read somewhere that root should only be used if necessary), and I don't know how to create new users.

2. When the desktop enviorment first loaded up(root/startx), I picked KDE, but would now like to try something else. How do I do that?

3. Also, I want to install Opera, and when I download the file all I get is source code(.js, .jar, etc). I find that pretty cool, but how do I actually install anything, heh.

Passwords are not echoed to the screen in Linux. If you type your password as if it were showing up on the screen and hit ENTER, you should be good to go.

Run the adduser command to add users. Note that you need root permissions to add new users.

I'd personally suggest doing a new install if you want a different desktop environment, but it is possible to add one, and/or remove the one you have using pkgtool, or a utility like slapt-get.

Check the link below for an Opera package that can be installed with pkgtool:

LinuxPackages: Results

bah, I had a feeling that was happening

i don't really know what I typed when it was asking me to set the password. At one point, I think I started smashing keys -_-


anyway, i downloaded the pkgtool, how do i install that?

Quote:

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i don't really know what I typed when it was asking me to set the password. At one point, I think I started smashing keys -_-

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Boot up in single user mode and execute passwd command to reset root password. It wont ask for earlier password. Execute shutdown -r now to reboot machine.

Code:

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passwd
shutdown -r now

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in user mode, when i use the passwd command, it assumes i'm trying to change the password for the user and not for root

If you have your mind set on running Slackware, then read the Slackbook. It should address most of your installation woes and give a good overview of Slackware specifics such as the package manager and networking.


As for changing the GUI. Slackware comes with a couple of GUI's already installed. At the graphical login screen, there should be a 'button' called 'system'. If you click this, a menu pops up and you will want to click 'session type'.
Whenever you install a new interface (IceWM for example) it should be auto detected and present in that list.

As for the changing the DE, you can run 'xwmconfig' from the Command Prompt. Then you can select the one you would like to have. If the one you want is not there, you can download that and install that.

Tip: before you download the tarball, or downlaod the source, of any package, always be sure to check out SlackBuilds.org.

Happy Slacking ;)
Regards,
limac

Well for what I have read it looks like they all like doing it the hard way even I had to learn how to do it when I frist started but there is a easyler way of doing all of that.

1. log in to root but do not start the Xserver yet.
2. type xwmconfig select KDE for your desktop.
3. then start the Xserver. by typeing startx
4. to add a new user go down to the littel blue box with a gear in it.
5. go up to system. you will see some thing called user manager.

With user manager you can add new users change there groups and give that user a password. If you are in root you can change or add a password to root.

But like Freston said reading the slack book will help you out a lot.