*BSD News Article 38979


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From: jackson@replicant.csci.unt.edu (Bruce Jackson)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.apps
Subject: Re: Question from a first-time UNIX (BSD) user
Date: 6 Dec 1994 06:02:29 GMT
Organization: University of North Texas
Lines: 24
Distribution: inet
Message-ID: <3c0upl$je5@hermes.unt.edu>
References: <bjohnson.214.2EE38233@osrhe.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: replicant.csci.unt.edu

In article <bjohnson.214.2EE38233@osrhe.edu>, BJ <bjohnson@osrhe.edu> wrote:

> about the fourth time I booted this system, I got a # LOGIN:.  This
> confused me, and I am dead in the water.  I Loged in as root but
> received "don't login as root, use su ".

> I tried to log in as su but it won't let me.  
> What is my next step to be 

It didn't mean to log in as su but to use the su command.  The
prefered way to become root is to use the su (substitute user) command
rather than logging in as root directly.  After you have a user login
for yourself you will need to add that username to the root group and
after that you will be able to become root with the "su" command.
When you learn your way around the system you will learn to adjust
ownerships and permissions such that you rarely need to become root at
all; you will just make yourself owner of the things you are working
on so you won't need to be root.  When you are root one wrong
keystroke can wipe out your system so you should avoid being root as
much as is practical.
-- 
 Bruce Jackson         | Univ. of North Texas   | jackson@cs.unt.edu
 UNIX Systems Admin.   | P. O. Box 13886        | GAB 550E (817)565-2279
 Dept. of Computer Sci.| Denton, Tx. 76203-3886 | FAX: (817)565-2799