Root logon problem Suse 10.3

[igk1947]

I'm a newbie with linux folks and I have just installed Suse 10.3 as a duel boot with XP pro, all went very well and all works fine,the only problem that I have is that the root password when needed to access any serious alterations has a mind of its own and sometimes does not work, when not working it comes up with a brief wording that it is "checking please wait" then much harddrive activity then nothing at all, It is only when I reboot into Suse that the root password decides to work as it should but even this is unpredictable and sometimes it takes more reboots for it to work.
Any help much appreciated..

[Jonathan183]

Are you sure you are typing the root password correctly? (Linux is case sensitive so Root is not the same as root)

What are you trying to do when you are prompted for the root password?

What exactly is the error message you get?

[scrarfussi]

most probably something wrong with your installation does it only take long too respond when you type root password or does it do it with other applications too

[igk1947]

Jonathan, thanks for helping, I am typing the root password correctly, what I am trying to do is anything that requires yast or any changes to the system that requires root permission, I do not get any errors,I type the password in the box and it very quickly states to wait while checking then box goes but nothing happens except a bit of harddrive activity for a few seconds

[igk1947]

Scrarfussi, this only happens when trying to access anything that needs the root password, everything else works alarmingly well (I have tried other versions of Suse and there has been various problems with all except this one mostly due to instalation troubles)
As I said before I have to reboot several times until I can get the correct operation of the root password.

[igk1947]

If it makes any difference or helps I am using Gnome not KDE
Thanks again.

[Jonathan183]

Have you checked available disk space ? try

df -h

in a terminal.
Have you checked message and warning logs for clues?
If you su in a terminal does that respond in a similar way to yast?
When you run

top

in a terminal do you get any clues about what is using all system resources?

[igk1947]

OK as you suggest: the first one df -h shows plenty of available disk space.
The second su in the terminal asks for password this is put in and I assume accepted as the writing goes red.
Third input top gives a constant stream of data that I must admit means little to me (I did say I was a newbie) although two users me and root noted.
As for message and warning logs I don't as yet know were these are located I will dig around a bit.
Thanks..

[Jonathan183]

You can access the logs through yast (it also shows you were they are) ... and the idea was to monitor top while you started yast & entered the password - to see if there were obvious candidates using virtually all system resources.
Does df -h show plent of space available for all entries?

[ironduke]

Yast can be very slow at times and you're not sure after a while that it's doing anything. Usually I go and make a cup of tea and resist the temptation to click anything else while I'm waiting.

Also a handy utility is the System Resource Monitor. Right click on the task bar (is there a linux name for "task bar"?) click Add to Panel and scroll down to find system monitor (no root password required :^)
it shows when the CPU is really busy and it's time to put the kettle on.