Part 2, Post-install Mandriva::2010 setup ‘sudo’
<< Go back to Part 1
or proceed to set up sudo >>
Applications > Tools > Terminal.
Right-click > add launcher to panel.
Open the terminal now.
You are in normal user mode.
enter this
[enter]
Enter your root/admin password
(for security reasons, there is no “print to screen” during this operation so you will not see anything as you enter the password. After the password) now hit
[enter]
You are logged in with root/admin control, hence the
symbol instead of the
symbol.
Set up sudo
This step allows you to perform management/administration operations without logging in as “root”.
Now enter this command at the terminal
[enter]
Use the arrow key to scroll until you find these lines
#%wheel ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
Hit the ‘i’ key and delete the # symbol at the beginning of those two lines. Doing this causes the line to become an active command instead of a comment.
Be careful to NOT do anything else in this file. Only delete those symbols. It should only be one click for each # symbol!
After this, hit the
[ Esc] key
(this is one step that had me confused.. the Esc key must preceed your command to insert “i”, save (write) and quit “:wq” ).
Now do this command to write and quit
Type
[enter]
In your terminal, type
hit [enter]
This returns you to normal user mode.
One more step.
Add yourself to the “wheel” group.
Go to System > Administration > Configure Computer [enter root password] > System > Administration Tools – Manage users on system
Highlight your username and right-click > Edit > Groups > scroll down to the word “wheel” check the box to the left of this group name. A yellow check symbol now appears to the left of the group “wheel”. Hit “Ok. Ctrl+Q and Ctrl+Q ends this section.
Congratulations. You are now ready to use the “sudo” command whenever you install anything from the terminal or start any program with administration privileges.
That’s really the end of this section concerning Mandriva 2010.0 post installation ..
But, before doing anything else, by now you have been offered to “upgrade to a new distribution version mandriva 2009.1″.
Fix the Mandriva Applet Upgrade Bug
Because of the naming of the current version, you will receive a notification asking you if you want to “upgrade to version 2009.1″. We want to disable this notification for now. Find the blue arrow icon in the top right corner of the top panel. Right-click it and then select ‘quit’.
In your terminal,
[enter]
the text editor called gedit will now open the file named “mdkapplet”
you need to scroll until you find the line
edit this line to read as follows
save [Ctrl+s] and quit [Ctrl+q]
Now you won’t get that notification. Just remember that when a new version is really released, you will not be informed automatically. In any case, it is far better to download your new version, burn to disc and install that way (IMHO). The automatic upgrade often ends in a small or large disaster.
Now, I invite you to use the link below to read the next section
Part 3, Post-install Mandriva::2010 Add sources & sauces >>
*The ‘upgrade bug’ has been fixed in a subsequent update. I still find it useful to disable this “convenience” on a system used by someone who is not very familiar with Linux because an upgrade needs to be handled with necessary care. Upgrade is not the same as a simple update of a few packages. The upgrade is as easy to do – one simple click – but the implications are quite different.
khalid, and 
davdi are discussing. 
khalid 10:00 pm on February 5, 2010 Permalink |
i don’t know why, but when i type visudo in terminal it says command not found.. please help, this is a great tip
tanclo 8:27 pm on February 25, 2010 Permalink |
Hi Khalid. Sorry about my late reply. I think you might have to check two things. Are you logged in as root – you should see a # sign if you are. 2nd, do you have an editor like VIM installed?
davdi 6:04 pm on February 27, 2010 Permalink |
this is nice but you might want to keep the ‘#’ in front of ‘%wheel ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL’, just in case you leave your terminal on
tanclo 12:48 pm on February 28, 2010 Permalink |
Thanks for that warning, David. It is essential to always exit from sudo at the end of any root operation. I have read about the security risk and from what I understand, it is a bit of a debate. One I’m not sure I totally understand. I do know that using Truecrypt one has to have sudo setup. If you check a few of my posts, follwoing my procedure, users must do the “exit” [enter] “exit” [enter] routine at the end of installations, just to make sure. Is that a viable solution?
khalid 1:12 am on March 5, 2010 Permalink |
no no, no worries
well yes, after you type su you’re prompted to type the root password innit so there is the # sign
and VIM is installed (verified it by typing vim in terminal)
any suggestions?
tanclo 5:51 pm on March 6, 2010 Permalink |
I found this which may be a pointer in the right direction. And have you checked the forums? i have a few in the sidebar. here’s that link http://erikeldridge.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/tutorial-visudo-command-not-found/ let us know what happened ok.