become superuser [solved]

[anakin]

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marco@marco-X555LPB / $ su
Password: 
su: Authentication failure

I can not become superuser.
do I have to activate something?

the password is correct and I can use the command "sudo"

[Moem]

This article will explain it. I assume you've used a different distro before? The way Mint (and Ubuntu) handles root rights is a bit different.

[Pjotr]

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marco@marco-X555LPB / $ su
Password: 
su: Authentication failure

I can not become superuser.
do I have to activate something?

the password is correct and I can use the command "sudo"

Becoming superuser is not the way Linux Mint is designed to be used. Why do you want this?

[Hoser Rob]

It's actually recommended in Mint (and its Ubuntu base) that new users don't create a root password. They're aimed at inexperienced users and for that reason there's no root password set by default. Distros aimed at more advanced users do set a root password when you install, eg. Debian, which is the base for Ubuntu/Mint but is not noob suitable.

Linux will assume you know EXACTLY what you're doing if you're root. You can cause a lot of damage andit won't give you any warning. One of the differences between Linux and WIndows is that in WIndows you just THINK you're the administrator. In Linux you really are.

So my suggestion is that unless you have a spare computer that you don't need, and therefore can afford to break the OS, don't bother. You can do everything you need to with sudo and gksudo or kdesudo. I don't have a root password.

[Faust]

.... Distros aimed at more advanced users do set a root password when you install, eg. Debian, which is the base for Ubuntu/Mint but is not noob suitable.....

Yep !
Sound advice all round so far .
Some things are just not helpful for new users

An interesting example is Kali , where you are root by default .
Try asking noob questions over on that forum !
There's not much love for folks who want a free personal tutorial , simply because they've heard that Kali
is " The Bomb " or " Bad-ass " , or whatever ( and they also have a keen nose for wannabe Script Kiddies over there ! )
A polite response might be - " Get the hang of walking , before attempting to run "
{ no criticism of that forum intended BTW , they just have a sharper focus on experienced users }

Things are much more noob friendly on this forum ,
.... if you have a good reason , then help will be forthcoming .
And I'm sure that nobody here wants to see you bork your pristine Linux Mint system -

.... in WIndows you just THINK you're the administrator ....

@Hoser Rob
Funny you should say that ....
I've just come across " Give Me Power " over on Bleeping Computer ( it looks like it gives you an elevation from admin to SYSTEM ) .

Haven't had a chance to try it yet , but I've got various old Windows boxes lying around ,
and I'll be more than happy if I wreck some of them by driving that tool around ....
....like a total hooligan -

[Flemur]

the password is correct and I can use the command "sudo"

Yeah, Mint is a bit weird about 'root'.

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sudo -i

will effectively log you in as "root". Try

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whoami

afterwards.

Like they said, be careful when you do it.
Don't forget to exit.
It might be better to always "sudo command" (or "gksudo") instead.

[BG405]

It might be better to always "sudo command" (or "gksudo") instead.

+1.

sudo for command-line and gksudo for all graphical programs launched from the Terminal, or kdesudo in Mint KDE.

As others have said, it's VERY easy to bork your system when running as root.

[JerryF]

...
Yeah, Mint is a bit weird about 'root'.

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sudo -i

will effectively log you in as "root". Try

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whoami

afterwards.

Like they said, be careful when you do it.
Don't forget to exit.
It might be better to always "sudo command" (or "gksudo") instead.

I've used sudo su very rarely to be root.

[anakin]

thank you so much
you have been very kind.



probably in the previous versions (linux mint 14 nadia and 17.1 rebecca)
the command "su" was sufficient. but now I'm not sure

the question was for beginners
but I use Linux for some years now

thank you all