Root password needed

password root

14,238

Solution 1

Okay, there is a difference between your password and the root password (the password of the account "root").

When you first installed Ubuntu, you specified your username (let's say you chose Ele) and your password; this is the password that you would use to log in. Since you have Ubuntu to log in automatically, you won't be asked for this password when booting Ubuntu.

The default installation of Ubuntu makes your user an admin; that is, it makes you able to install and remove applications and all that. The password that is asked when you install/remove components is usually your password, Ele's password. Take a look at these screenshots:

enter image description here

This program is asking you to Enter your password, so this would be the password of Ele, that you used to install Ubuntu, which is the same password you use to log in.
If you did not set a password when you were installing Ubuntu (and I think this is where your problem is Ele), then you need to set a password for your user. To do so, simply type the following command (commands can be typed in a terminal which you can open by Ctrl+Alt+T):
```
passwd
```
And enter your new password. Note: you won't see any stars *** or anything; don't worry, just continue typing.

Now, let's look at another kind of prompt that could ask you for a password:

enter image description here

This program is asking you to Enter the administrative password, which is the root password, the superuser password, the password of the account "root". This password is NOT set by default.
It is generally not advisable to set a root password unless you really need to, because it essentially opens doors to lots of accidental, harmful tasks. But, if you really want to set the root password, you would do this:
```
sudo passwd root
```
It will first ask you to enter your password, in order to carry out this command (because you typed sudo). Then, it will ask you to specify a new root password.
- If your account does not have a password set in the first place, this command will not work, because you are performing a sudo command, which will require your password first.
Note1: if you have set a root password and you want to remove it and go back to how it was, do this command:
```
sudo passwd -dl root
```
It will, again, ask you for your password, because you are doing a command that starts with sudo. This command deletes the password and locks the root account.
Note2: you should rarely see this second screenshot, the one that's asking for the root password. Usually, you'll be asked to enter your user's password. That is how Ubuntu is set up, so that you don't need to log in as the root (superuser) to perform administrative tasks, you only "borrow" the root privileges by using the command sudo.

Solution 2

Use

sudo passwd

Essentially, it makes root do 'passwd' which sets a password for the user who used the command.

14,238

Ele

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Ele over 1 year

When I first installed Ubuntu 13.04 from a USB stick I was asked to fill in for user username and password so I set one on my own. When I run Ubuntu I click log in but it automatically logs me in as user so I can't type my username. As a result, in order to run certain apps or set up my network I'm asked to type the root password for authentication. I don't wanna log in as a superuser. Please note that I'm a newbie to Ubuntu.
- NickTux almost 11 years
  
  Read here please:RootSudo - Ubuntu Wiki
- Alvar almost 11 years
  
  What is your question?
- Ele almost 11 years
  
  Well I did that and it says operation not permitted. What do I do now? :'(
- web.learner almost 11 years
  
  Automatically logs you in as what user? Guest? Are you asked for a root password or an administrator password?
- Ele almost 11 years
  
  @Seth Guest yeah. I'm asked for a root password. Without it I can't access anything and take advantageof Ubuntu :/
- web.learner almost 11 years
  
  @ele Try pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1 and logging into text mode. Does that work?
dschinn1001 almost 11 years

ouch ! - a teacher with red stick ? ;-)
Alaa Ali almost 11 years

No, sudo passwd will change the password of the user that executed that command, not the root password. If you want to set the root password, you would do sudo passwd root.
SimplySimon almost 11 years

Thanks for that. I know I changed mine, but I couldn't remember how. :)
Alaa Ali almost 11 years

The root password? You probably did sudo passwd root; take a look at my answer.
SimplySimon almost 11 years

That's the way :)