New Users - Root/ Non-root Login

[Seb]

hello there,

to most of you this must be a stupid question:

how do you log in as a non-root user??

i spent two hours on browsing the net but haven't found much, so it's either totally simple and indeed a stupid question - or it just isn't possible and everyone knows this and has accepted it. so, which of these is true??

many thanks in advance )
seb

ps: i've created an additional user in /etc/passwd and set up the shadow-file, so i CAN log in, but not into X

[km2783]

I made a non-root account, logged in as it, and then could not even reboot the system, let alone change users.  When I started X, it was garbled and strange looking.  I hunted around here and read that there was no real support for non-root users  

So I just reflashed and did not make a non-root account this time around

[Seb]

sds wrote in thread

https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showt...=non-root&st=75

the following:

>My take on testing the RC11:
>
>I am unable to rotate the screen from a (newly created) user account -- I do not like logging-in as >root -- this used to work in RC10?
>Also, I am not sure where should I change the permissions/use sudo so that the screen would
>blanken in a user account when closing the lid?

so I guess there must be a way to log into X as non-root. on the other hand I also find posts which give me the impression there is no way to log in as non-root, BUT:

i mean, this is linux, there MUST be a way, so, which is the solution?

setting suid bits? in that case, for which files??
setting up a display manager?
other solutions?

if anyone has solved this - please give me a hint in which direction to investigate further, ideally something like "just read this: http://www. ..."  

thanks again  
seb

[ratki]

See my earlier post here:
https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=15908&hl=#

Tamas

[Seb]

thanks for your quick response, but what exactly did you do after flashing with pdaxrom?

this is what i did:
flashing
-after playing a little bit with root "exit"ing from x
-under console adding new user "zaurus" in /etc/passwd, setting up /etc/shadow, changing password by "passwd zaurus" as root
-log out as root by "exit"
-log in as "zaurus"
-"startx" as zaurus
-and funny tings happen:
"using fallback suid method"
"xauth: timeout in locking authority file /home/zaurus/.xauthority" (what is this?)
and when it finally starts it looks strange and nothing really works
 

i mean - what you wrote in that thread looks to me like solving minor problems (rotating, audio etc.), i don't even get to start it reasonibly..

[ratki]

Try before startx:
cd
ln -s /usr/bin/mbsession .xinitrc

You shoud get the same windowmanager as root has.

Tamas

[Seb]

THANKS!!!      

seems to work so far!
the only thing which keeps me interested now is the "using fallback suid method"-thing when working with the console, what exactly does that mean?

thanks again!