Wayne Stallwood wrote:

The first user you created with the welcome wizard will be a sudoer.

If I could find my memory...

So just sudo (command you want) to run it as root. Putting your password in when prompted

I don't think I *HAVE* a password...

If I have, I've a) forgotten it b) forgotten putting it in c) mislaid any note I would have made of it.

I try to avoid paswords because a) I always forget them b) can never find any note I've made - though if I look for the booklet of destructions there might be something there...

Afterwards sudo su will set a new root password but I would strongly advise you get into the habit of using sudo rather than logging in as root.

I don't log in, as root or anything else.

Just switch on, and the 'orrid Windowsy interface appears, and AFAICR, that's how it's always been.

Must play with Thunderguts' setting - hit 'Reply to' and it picks senders addy, not the list...

Many thanks, anyway, now for many thinks. (I do log into Lenny as 'user', not root, BTW.

Wayne Stallwood wrote:

Regardless of whether or not you set a password, the first user you set up (or the only user if you only have one user on the machine) will be an sudo'er..it will probably just not prompt you for a password if one wasn't set.

If you set a password and then somehow set up autologin and then forgot the password then you'll need to do the boot in single user mode, remount / and change/set the root password dance probably.

That would be much easier in a proper version of Linux - this thing, which is more Windozy than Windows, with My This, and My That, and default to brash and 'orrid icons in a Windozy GUI - just starts, and presents a page of Internet, Work, learn, Play and Favourites.

I could do without practically everything on each of these - an do. Accordingly (at great expense) I've bought a vast tome of 'how to do it' command line and shell scripting, and despite Asus inisting that 'I may not' remove pre-installed programs, most of them are coming off...

About the only things I use are Firefox, Thunderbird, the Vodafone dongleything, wireless notworks, File Mangler and Open Office. I might use some of the other facilities, but I really can't think that I'll want to.

BTW is there something wrong with your clock..you seem to have replied to my message before I sent it :)

Auntie Sipation?

Better?

Simon Elliott wrote:

Anthony Anson wrote:

...

That would be much easier in a proper version of Linux - this thing, which is more Windozy than Windows, with My This, and My That, and default to brash and 'orrid icons in a Windozy GUI - just starts, and presents a page of Internet, Work, learn, Play and Favourites.

I could do without practically everything on each of these - an do. Accordingly (at great expense) I've bought a vast tome of 'how to do it' command line and shell scripting, and despite Asus inisting that 'I may not' remove pre-installed programs, most of them are coming off...

If you're going to remove all the default Asus apps and you're not worried about using the command line, I would suggest going the whole hog and backing up any data you've got on there and installed Crunchbang Eee Edition which, from what you've said, sounds right up your street.

http://www.crunchbanglinux.org/wiki/downloads#cruncheee_eee_pc_edition

http://www.crunchbanglinux.org/wiki/cruncheee_installation_guide

I run it on my Eee 900 and find it miles better than the default Xandros hack-up...

Thanks for that - can I back up onto a USB flash stick? And, will the OS install over the Xandros thing, leaving (say) Thunderbird, Firefox and the Vodafone interface?

<thinks> Must look in the BIOS and see if I can boot from USB...

Simon Elliott wrote: /snip/

...

<thinks> Must look in the BIOS and see if I can boot from USB...

It will completely remove the Xandros install leaving nothing, but it does come with Firefox. Thunderbird can be installed via command line, "sudo apt-get install mozilla-thunderbird". However, I'm not sure about the Vodafone part. A quick search of apt throws up a package called "gcom - Option GlobeTrotter and Vodafone datacard control tool" which may or may not be useful?

Probably what I have. Unfortunately, this is at present my only access to the internet, and if I louse-up the order of doing things, I may be back to square 1. Been offline for a while because my big box suddenly took it into its head not to work with anything NT-based, and as my usual internet software (been using it for ten or more years) runs in Win 2000 or later, getting the dongledriver onto the Eee necessitated a friend with a connection, and a crossover network cable...

So, I've an external caddy which will accommodate a drive, and my plan (if that's the word for this pious hope) was to make a bootable copy of this Xandros drive *BEFORE* burning my boats...

There's probably a HOWTO somewhere online for what you're after. If it's a debian/Ubuntu specific how to it'll work on Cruncheee which is Ubuntu based.

Which in turn, is Debian-based, no?

The BIOS should support USB booting, you might have to change the boot order or enable it but usually hitting escape or F2 or something right at the start of the boot up will do the trick :)

Best of luck..

Thanks - I'll need it.

Might have to cycle over to the Reindeer on Thursday - last bus home leaves St. Steve's before seven of the clock.