Hi all, Erik, it's a good idea to have both a userID and root ID. <smile> Yes, I know you aren't administrating the First National Bank, however, you *can* do some things as root that you can not retract and can not overwrite as root. You can set things up so you can run most things as user, and you really, really should work that way. It's only common sense. For example, you can delete files within the core as root. You can delete anything as root, even other people's files. You have complete control over the whole bless computer in a more significant way than any Windows user does. As a Windows user, you can't edit your system files. Indeed, you can't edit any of the files that actually run the computer. No, I don't mean the changes you can make from within the interface of the OS, I mean the actual core files of the OS, the files that make the computer what it is. Those are written in proprietary code that is closed to the user. That's not the case in Linux. Erik, you can do some real significant damage to your system as root precisely because the source code for every single file on your system is available to you. In short, as root, you are sitting on a time bomb. I am probably the worst person to tell you this because I never do anything as root unless I'm absolutely sure I know what I'm doing. I am one who has complete respect for root perms. There are those on this list who know their Linux boxes backward and forward, and even they do not use root unless they have to do so. They program as users, do most of the work on their computers as users and not as root. They'd tell you the same as me. Quit doing what you're doing! Only use root for root things. <smile> There's a darned good reason why users can't write to the root partition. Linux assumes that if you are operating as root, you know what you're doing. It will not ask you if you are sure you want to edit a file or delete a file or move a file. Remember, there is *no* recovery from Linux deletes. Once you delete something, it's gone, period, gone with no return, no restore, no backup for those who inadvertently type a wrong key. No, my friend, no, be wise, respect your root perms and do your work as a user. <smile> Now, of course, you can take this msg and delete it and decide that I'm just old and scared and too cautious, but if you wreck your system, you'll remember what I said. Ann P. -- Ann K. Parsons email: akp at eznet.net ICQ Number: 33006854 WEB SITE: http://home.eznet.net/~akp "All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost." JRRT
