How do I make myself a "super user"

Question

How do I make myself a "super user"

I am experiencing the same problem other user had :

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6791292#6791292

"After performing a full restore via Time Machine, the following error message appears constantly in my console:

3/8/08 9:48:00 PM com.apple.launchd[1] (org.postfix.master) Failed to count the number of files in "/var/spool/postfix/maildrop": No such file or directory"

I tried to execute this fix:

"THE FIX:
Open terminal make sure you are at root directory and type:
sudo mkdir /var/spool/postfix enter
<password> enter
postfix stop enter
postfix start enter

The postfix folder is created and the directories are rebuilt."

When I entered the command "postfix stop" and pressed enter, I got the message saying I was not a "supper user"

How do I make sure I'm at the root directory?

Posted on May 18, 2008 5:59 PM

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Answer 1

Niel

Community+ 2026

Level 10

751,535 points

May 18, 2008 6:05 PM in response to Ricardo Valdes

Put 'sudo' prior to the last two commands, as demonstrated with the first command. You will not be asked for the password again if it's been entered in the last 5 minutes. Where you are probably doesn't matter when the path begins with a / or ~.

(32309)

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

362,731 points

May 18, 2008 6:06 PM in response to Ricardo Valdes

Just prefix each command line with "sudo."

sudo postfix stop enter
sudo postfix start enter

The admin user is not the same as the "root" or "super" user. In the Terminal you go to the root directory by entering:

cd /

Then press RETURN.

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Answer 3

Jul 26, 2008 4:39 PM in response to Kappy

What is the sudo or su password?

Rachael

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Answer 4

Kurt Lang

Level 9

72,449 points

Jul 26, 2008 5:09 PM in response to Rachael Jellicoe

sudo is short for "super user do". It gives you temporary super user access without actually creating a root user account.

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Answer 5

Jul 26, 2008 6:10 PM in response to Kurt Lang

The sudo command did not work to allow me to get rid of some of my log files. I had to go into my install DVD to reset my master password and now that works as the super user so I could rm the files

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Answer 6

Kurt Lang

Level 9

72,449 points

Jul 27, 2008 8:15 AM in response to Rachael Jellicoe

Hi Rachael,

That should have worked. There must have been some slight problem with the OS that resetting your password cleared up.

It also does depend on how many commands you've entered in a row that would normally require authorization. If I remember correctly, you can type in up to 5 commands after the initial sudo request. After that, your account automatically falls back to standard access and would require another sudo command. Even in the same Terminal session.

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Answer 7

Jul 27, 2008 12:13 PM in response to Kurt Lang

The sudo command failed on the first try to remove the files so I had to shoot for su. Do you use the sudo command in a line of it's own or do you use in with the command you want to use like "sudo rm /var/log/*.out". If that was the case then I was using it wrong. I looked up the sudo command and most of what I was reading went way way over my head.

Thanks for the help.

Rachael

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Answer 8

macjack

Level 10

111,368 points

Jul 27, 2008 12:37 PM in response to Rachael Jellicoe

Rachael Jellicoe wrote:
do you use in with the command you want to use like "sudo rm /var/log/*.out". If that was the case then I was using it wrong.

Yes, you entered it incorrectly. It isn't wise to be banging around in Terminal without a basic knowledge of UNIX.

-mj

Message was edited by: macjack

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Answer 9

Kurt Lang

Level 9

72,449 points

Jul 27, 2008 12:49 PM in response to Rachael Jellicoe

As macjack pointed out, yes, it needs to be on the same line. On a line of its own, you told the computer, sudo "nothing".

Big agreement with macjack, too. Don't mess around in the Terminal if you don't have at least a fairly good grasp what the commands you type in can and/or will do.

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Answer 10

Jul 27, 2008 12:59 PM in response to Kurt Lang

I see now that I could have caused a bit of trouble. While I was pretty sure the files I wanted to rm would not cause a problem, I was a bit nervous lurking around in terminal. Glad I made it out alive. Anyhow this is how I learn and I have had to reload Leopard so many times now what would once more hurt. I ordered a book from Amazon that should help me figure unix/linex a bit more. But still a little uneasy in terminal.

thanks

Rachael

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Answer 11

macjack

Level 10

111,368 points

Jul 27, 2008 1:10 PM in response to Rachael Jellicoe

There are many good tutorials on UNIX this tutorial is one. You do have to be with the University to get the particular folder they suggest you download but you can work around it by creating one of your own.

Here is another

EDIT: If you're going to learn that way then your best investment would be an external hard drive with a bootable clone of your system, if you don't have one. You could even do your learning booted from the clone and then overwrite any errors backing up your internal.

-mj

Message was edited by: macjack

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Answer 12

Jul 27, 2008 8:20 PM in response to macjack

I was afraid enough of messing around in terminal that I had copied my Leopard partition over to another one on another hard drive. I kinda do that anytime I add a program or make any major changes or Leopard updates. When I first used the Leopard boot camp it killed my system so I was able to reload it from the other partition. Never could get leopard boot camp to work so I booted into Tiger to use it's boot camp beta (had to change the date on Tiger). But even so I am so used to reloading windows every 6 months that I still do that with OS X, just to clean things out.

I am looking forward to the unix book. It took me a while to figure out vi but I got lost in ed. Sorta like my windows friends who don't even know dos is there under the os. But I have killed Windows playing around in dos...

Rachael

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