*BSD News Article 53699


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From: j@interface-business.de (J Wunsch)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.misc
Subject: Re: Can't login as 'root'
Date: 23 Oct 1995 14:57:18 +0100
Organization: interface business GmbH, Dresden
Lines: 28
Message-ID: <46g6vu$713@ida.interface-business.de>
References: <46ccdf$lni@news-e1a.megaweb.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: ida.interface-business.de

Rob Lawrence <yowassup@gnn.com> wrote:
>I'm am new to unix os's I have just gotten FreeBSD.  I have manuals but
>> none 
>>are just FreeBSD.  Everything went well, but I can't login to a shell as 
>>root, this also keep me from starting Xserver.  I have created new users
>> and 
>>they are able to login fine.  When I try to login as root it asks me for a 
>>terminal?  I have looked through faq's, man pages, and manuals I see
>> nothing 
>>there.  If I try xterm as the terminal I get a Message 'Don't login as
>> root 
>>use su"  which i have been doing but without logging in I cannot execute
>> any 
>>applications from root.  which means users will not be able to use
>> Xwindows,  

The `terminal type' question is from the tset command.  You don't
really need it as long as the information about the terminal type in
/etc/ttys is correct.

The "Don't login as root, use su" is a simple hint that it's not good
habit to login as root.  Instead, you should login as a regular user,
and user su(1) to become root temporarily.

-- 
J"org Wunsch					       Unix support engineer
joerg_wunsch@interface-business.de
					[private: http://www.sax.de/~joerg/]