Good evening,
Thanks for the detailed directions. Very similar to Ubuntu.
Thanks again,
Everett
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jacob Schmude" <[email protected]>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X by
theblind" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 9:10 PM
Subject: Re: Root account on OS X
Hi Everett
The root user is disabled by default, i.e. you cannot log into it. Your
created account is an administrative account, but that does not mean you
can do anything unchecked. OS X relies on sudo for operations that would
normally require access, and having an administrator gives you permission
to utilize sudo. It also gives you permission to directly copy to certain
system folders, such as Applications and Library.
In the event you need to do something that requires root access, you will
be asked for your account password for verification. If you were running
as a normal user (non-admin) you would need to enter both the username
and password of an admin account to temporarily escolate your privileges
for the duration of that operation.
You don't need to enable the root user under most circumstances. In the
terminal, from an administrator account, enter:
sudo su -
to su to root. You will need to enter your account password. You have a
root shell from that point until you log out of it by typing "exit" or
quitting the terminal application.
If you really do want to enable the root user, do the following:
Open Directory Utility, located under Applications/Utilities. Go to the
edit menu, and select "enable root user." Create a password for root, and
that's it. If this item is dimmed, you need to unlock directory utility
(if you're running as a non-admin account this will be the case). To
unlock it, VO down to the bottom of the window and you will here "click
the lock to make changes" button. Press this, and enter an admin username
and password, and it will be unlocked and the root user can be enabled.
Once done, you may log into the system as root. I probably don't need to
warn you, but I'm going to anyway: be very, very, very careful as root.
You won't be prompted for anything, no matter what the consequences might
be.
hth
On Jan 4, 2009, at 19:41, E.J. Zufelt wrote:
Good evening,
I don't remember having to specifiy a password for a root or
administrative account for OS X.
1. Is my default user an administrative user?
there a root / administrative account and how do I get to it?
Thanks,
Everett
2. Is
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