Trouble Logging In as Root

[Owen Townend]

2008/11/9 hippie dream <tonightsthenight at gmail.com>:
>
> Hello,
>
> I am having trouble logging in as root on a fresh install of Ubuntu 8.10.
> During the setup process, I was prompted to give a password which I can use
> perfectly to install programs and make most changes. However, I think the
> system only set me up as a administrator because when I try to login as root
> I receive this message:
>
> sam at sam-laptop:~$ su root
> Password:
> su: Authentication failure
> sam at sam-laptop:~$
>
> Am I missing something really obvious here? How can setup my computer so
> that I can login as root? I have all my files backed up so if another fresh
> install is required that is certainly as possibility.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Sam

Hey,
 Ubuntu doesn't set a password on the root account by default.
 All root interaction is through sudo, gksudo etc.
 The password you set during installation was your own user password
and you should have been added as an admin with full sudo rights.
 Simply use `sudo -i` to get a root shell. (check the sudo man page
for other options)

 If you want to be able to use the root login in the traditional way
just use `sudo passwd` to set a root password.

cheers,
Owen.