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Error message when I log into Linux (only "root" works)

DocDoo

Golden Member
2 days ago I installed Linux on my system, I used Mandrake 7.2.

I have only been able to use it as "root" (administrator), and have been trying to get log in as a "user" that I created, with no luck 🙁 It's faily easy to create a user but I am wondering if I have not set it up correctly....

Everytime I try to log in, I get the message "could not read network connection list. Check that the "dcopserver" program is running." then when I click OK... I get the final pop up saying "The KDE session manager (ksmserver) crashed and caused the signal 11 (sigsegv)" .... it then takes me back to the log-in screen.

Remember, I a complete newbie to Linux (but a pro on other O/S 😉).

Can someone explain the above?

Or if I did something wrong, whats the sure way to add a user (step X step).

PS. It's been a loooooog time that I felt like such a newbie 😱
 
Hmmm....

Well, to add a user grab a VC (Virtual Console) by doing ctrl+alt+Fx, where Fx is one of the function keys on the keyboard. Now, login as root. Then: adduser <username>, then passwd <username> and type the password.

To get back to the xdm/kdm login screen alt+F7 and give it a try.
 
It's now resolved! Thanks.

It appears the &quot;user&quot; that I originally had added was corupted or something. I added a new user through the &quot;VC&quot; (instead of the GUI), and it works. I even see the icon on the log-on screen (root and username). As before it only showed the &quot;root&quot; icon.

But now that I have added the new &quot;user name,&quot; what is the best &quot;group&quot; or category for daily use.
 
Mandrake employs RedHat's UPG (User Private Groups) scheme, which means that each user gets their own group as well. It's supposed to help simplify managing groups, and for the most part it does.

You really probably don't need to mess with that. If you need to do system administration stuff as root, just open a console then su and you're root.
 
Are you saying that by default, when I &quot;adduser&quot; <username> in the VC.... it gives minimal (read: safe) access. I could run around screwing with files and not worrie about it? (hehe, you know what I mean)
 
Pretty much, yes. Some programs you won't be able to run because the user won't have proper access. Other things may not be accessible simply because they're not in your PATH.

Actually it doesn't matter about how you add a user. The VCs are just handy to know about, handy to have. BTW this only works on x86 machines. Not on alphas or SPARCs. Why are they handy? Well, sometime you might think the OS has crashed, when in fact only X has crashed. So you can try grabbing a VC and restarting, or killing X.

Mandrake uses a nifty tool called msec (Mandrake SECurity...I think). Read the man page on msec for more info.

[edit]Let me reword the &quot;proper access&quot; statement better. What I meant was that the user won't have the proper permissions. Whether it be that the user isn't in the correct group OR that the user just outright doesn't have the permissions to execute a program.[/edit]
 
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