Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Cannot use sudo and no su password

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Beans
    331
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Question Cannot use sudo and no su password

    I edited sudoers and saved it with a parsing error. (I tried to use visudo to edit the sudoers file but couldn't get the right command.)

    Anyway, I now do not have a valid sudoers file, so I cannot use sudo. I need sudo to edit the sudoers file in /etc

    I try to login as su but it doesn't accept the password I use for sudo. I have never set a password for su. I guess it must be the default. What is the default password for su ?

    Thank you!
    Linux-libre ask for it
    Coreboot Free software to replace proprietary BIOS
    Trisquel a fully free GNU/Linux-libre distribution
    Open Source does not mean Free My Spec Earthlings

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    LOCATION=/dev/random
    Beans
    5,767
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: Cannot use sudo and no su password

    There isn't a password that will work with su, the root account is disabled in Ubuntu.

    You can boot into recovery mode and edit the sudoers file that way instead:
    http://psychocats.net/ubuntu/fixsudo

    PS - This is why you should always use visudo to edit the sudoers file
    Cheesemill

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Beans
    331
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Question Re: Cannot use sudo and no su password

    Thanks for that great link, Cheesemill!

    I have to use the down arrow key. There is one on my keyboard on the number pad. It shares the number 2 button. It looks exactly like an arrow pointing down. I try to select this down arrow but nothing appears. I have tried using the shift+2, alt+2, ctrl+2 but they don't do the trick.

    There is another place with up and down arrows, too. The down arrow shares a key with Pg Dn. It is an inverted triangle. Page down is in blue - i think I need to use the blue function key for page down to work. Anyway, I can't get this down arrow key to produce anything on the command line either.

    Any suggestions on how to get the down arrow working?

    Thank you!
    Linux-libre ask for it
    Coreboot Free software to replace proprietary BIOS
    Trisquel a fully free GNU/Linux-libre distribution
    Open Source does not mean Free My Spec Earthlings

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    LOCATION=/dev/random
    Beans
    5,767
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: Cannot use sudo and no su password

    If you press the num lock button first the arrows on your number pad will work.
    Cheesemill

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Beans
    331
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Question Re: Cannot use sudo and no su password

    I tried num-lock first. I got it to toggle between entering a number and entering something else. Unfortunately, when I try to get it to enter something else, like a down arrow, nothing appears. The cursor remains in the same place and no character is produced.

    This is frustrating!

    Edit:

    Ah! The down arrow key was working, after all. The problem was that I thought down arrow was an actual command on the command line. Instead, it was referring to moving down through a menu in instructions I was following. I don't actually have that menu, so I can't navigate through it.

    I still need to somehow drop to the root shell prompt from the command line though. I don't know how to do that.
    Last edited by yeehi; June 15th, 2012 at 11:19 AM.
    Linux-libre ask for it
    Coreboot Free software to replace proprietary BIOS
    Trisquel a fully free GNU/Linux-libre distribution
    Open Source does not mean Free My Spec Earthlings

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Kubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

    Re: Cannot use sudo and no su password

    Read the easy to understand, lots of pics Ubuntu manual.
    Do i need antivirus/firewall in linux?
    Full disk backup (newer kernel -> suitable for newer PC): Clonezilla
    User friendly full disk backup: Rescuezilla

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Beans
    331
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Cannot use sudo and no su password

    Code:
    sudo -i
    sudo passwd root
    I can't do the above, as when I try I get a parsing error in sudoers error message. There is no valid sudoers file.

    I am using Trisquel, a fully free, linux-libre distro based on Ubuntu. There is no menu option for getting root in the recovery console that I can see.

    I wonder whether I will ever be able to get sudo back again on this installation... I might have to try booting with a live CD and editing the file from there somehow.
    Linux-libre ask for it
    Coreboot Free software to replace proprietary BIOS
    Trisquel a fully free GNU/Linux-libre distribution
    Open Source does not mean Free My Spec Earthlings

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    LOCATION=/dev/random
    Beans
    5,767
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: Cannot use sudo and no su password

    Quote Originally Posted by yeehi View Post
    [CODE] I might have to try booting with a live CD and editing the file from there somehow.
    This will work as well. Just boot from a Live CD, mount the root partition belonging to your problem installation and edit the sudoers file.


    If you are having problems getting to the GRUB menu to try the fix that I mentioned previously then just keep hitting SHIFT when the computer is booting. This should bring up the GRUB menu.
    Cheesemill

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Beans
    331
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Cannot use sudo and no su password

    I tried that sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt and got an error message:

    deleted i-node reference

    By the way, for some reason when I tried booting from a live CD on a usb stick, I only reached a command prompt interface. There was no GUI. Previously, when I tried out Trisquel this way on the USB stick, prior to actually installing Trisquel, I got the usual GUI.
    Linux-libre ask for it
    Coreboot Free software to replace proprietary BIOS
    Trisquel a fully free GNU/Linux-libre distribution
    Open Source does not mean Free My Spec Earthlings

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Magic City of the Plains
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Xubuntu Development Release

    Re: Cannot use sudo and no su password

    Moved to Other OS/Distro Talk.

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •