Help! Root password for software installation? Superuser?

[beet133]

Hi: I've recently had Ubuntu installed onto my Acer laptop after everything went haywire with it (a long story, which I won't bore you with). I've used ubuntu for about a year now, and never had this problem before:

I can install programs through the terminal, using sudo apt-get and my user password, but when I try to install anything through the Software Centre I get a message (see attached screenshot) asking for the root password for the 'superuser'. Now, I don't remember setting such a password, and if I did, I will have used on of my regular passwords (none of which work here). What's going on, and how can I solve the problem?

Thanks!

[oldos2er]

Does it work if you type in your user password?

[Chesamo]

That's very odd, considering Ubuntu disables root by default (and instructions to enable it are against the rules of this forum). I'm with oldos, have you tried your own password?

[sisco311]

Hi: I've recently had Ubuntu installed onto my Acer laptop after everything went haywire with it (a long story, which I won't bore you with). I've used ubuntu for about a year now, and never had this problem before:

I can install programs through the terminal, using sudo apt-get and my user password, but when I try to install anything through the Software Centre I get a message (see attached screenshot) asking for the root password for the 'superuser'. Now, I don't remember setting such a password, and if I did, I will have used on of my regular passwords (none of which work here). What's going on, and how can I solve the problem?

Thanks!

don't reboot or log out. add your user to the admin group:

sudo gpasswd -a username admin
replace username with your login name.

If you did reboot or log out, then boot in recovery mode and add your user to the admin group: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/graphicalsudo

If the above suggestions did not work then please post the output of:

cat /etc/polkit-1/localauthority*/*
and
id

[beet133]

@ sisko311:

Thank you, the first of those suggestions worked!

beet133

[beet133]

Sorry, sisco311...