Admin rights

[Smikail]

I am new to Linux

When I installed the Open Suse 10.2, it asked me to create a user account, which I did and I assumed that it is an admin.

The problem is that it logs in with this account and it is not an admin, I can not install the drivers because I do not have the permission the change the directories. The permissions : -rw--r--r

How can I change this user account to an admin account and have full control on the PC?

Thanks for your help

Smikail

[oz]

When I installed the Open Suse 10.2, it asked me to create a user account, which I did and I assumed that it is an admin.

A regular user account won't have admin permissions. Are you sure you didn't miss the part during the installation where you create the root account? If I'm not mistaken, it has a setup routine for both accounts.

I don't think there's a way for a regular user to give himself admin permissions. Maybe some will correct if that's wrong. You might have to reinstall.

[Smikail]

The account i created was the admin with a password, but still it does not allow me to write to certain directories, is there an option in user management to change permissions?

Thanks

Smikail

[gogalthorp]

I don't think the install will proceed unless you give a password to the root account. But I'm not sure about that.

To run as root there are many choices. For most intall type things it is best to use 'su' (short for Super User)

At a console prompt type
su
then enter the root password (note this will not echo to the screen)

Assuming you remember the root password this will make you a temp root user. You can then proceed with the install from that console with full rights.

There is a way to change the root password by booting in single user mode. But unless you know what you are doing it is better to just reinstall. Note when you reinstall be sure to select the partitions that you used for the last install explicitly. If you leave it to the defaults the installer will try to make new partitions.

[oz]

The account i created was the admin with a password, but still it does not allow me to write to certain directories, is there an option in user management to change permissions?

Thanks

Smikail

Root user should be able to write to any directory. Not sure what's up with that. This still sounds more like a regular user account.

Yes, if I remember correctly, you can change user permissions in user management with KDE. I think Gnome has a similar thing under System/Preferences, but it's called something else. I'm not running either of them right now so can't check them.

[devils casper]

I would suggest you to boot up in Single User mode and execute passwd command. Assign new password. Reboot machine and log in with Username root and new password. You will have Full Privileges. Its NOT recommended to log in as root user but you can use that password with su to gain root privileges while logged in as Regular User.

[Smikail]

I ended up re-installing the Suse , and when it asked me for the login I used the "root" password and it worked

Thanks for the help
Smikail

[khinch]

If I am reading your first post correctly, it appears that you want to log in with full admin rights at all times. Sorry if I'm wrong but that's the way I'm reading it. Are you entering "root" at the login screen? If so, this is considered unsafe and bad practice. (Yes, I know most Windows users do this all the time, that's one of the reasons why viruses are such a problem for Windows users.)

You should really be logging in as a regular user, then gaining "su" privileges to carry out admin tasks.

If you required admin rights in a terminal type "su root" and enter the root password when prompted. If you require admin rights when browsing files, (if using KDE) go to "Menu > System > File Manager > File Manager Super User Mode", or open a terminal and gain admin rights as described above, then type "konqueror" (or your file browser of choice).

[Smikail]

Yes, I wanted to be an admin all the time and there is two reasons:

1.I have no internet access, so I will not have any viruses

2.I have been struggling all week (and still trying) to get the wireless network card to work
which requires a lot of admin access, I did not want to add the pain of
logging in every time I want to do a change

I still agree, When everything is working, I should login as a user.

Thanks for the advice

Regards,

Smikail

[oz]

Some users find it extremely hard to begin using a regular account once they've gotten used to logging in as root. Hopefully, the transition won't be too difficult for you because logging in as root is truly one of the worst habits a user can get into.

Let us know how it goes.