[SOLVED] Why is root the only login that works?

[joseppi]

Something has just gone haywire with one of my systems. While I have 3 added three users, the only way I can login is as root.  The other three users are correctly added and appear in the "Manage users on the system" section of the control center system administration area.  However, when I try to login, the system goes through all the usual motions of loggin in andthen returns to the login page.

I can login as root and then 'su' and enter the password for any of the established user names and all the files show the correct user name as the owner of the files that are there, but I cannot login to any of them.

How can I fix this?

== Changing the permissions on /tmp to 777 fixed the problem.
Thanks again to all who provided answers.

[hounddog]

It could be that the /tmp folder is full.

[Texstar]

Or the /tmp folder in the users home folder has the wrong permissions.

[uncleV]

It could be that the /tmp folder is full.

Are there size restrictions for /tmp? Doesn't that mean the whole "/" is full?

@joseppi
Are you sure you fill correctly both the name and password of an user?
What if you try creating one more user just for checking things?

I can login as root and then 'su' and enter the password for any of the established user names

I can't understand exactly what you are doing with su in root account?

[kjpetrie]

Is /home on a separate partition? If so, it could be corrupted. While logged in as root, open a terminal and type:

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umount /home
fsck -f /dev/[color=blue]<sdax>[/color]where sdax is the location of your /home partition. You can find that out by looking in /etc/fstab

If it finds errors, always accept the default. When it finishes, remount/home by typing:

Code: [Select]


mount /home
Then log out and try logging in as a normal user.

[hounddog]

It could be that the /tmp folder is full.

Are there size restrictions for /tmp? Doesn't that mean the whole "/" is full?

Yes, it means that "/" has been used up and could stop users from logging in.  Clearing /tmp can sometimes do the trick.

[joseppi]

Changing the permissions on /tmp to 777 fixed the problem.
Thanks again to all who provided answers.

[kjpetrie]

The correct permission is 1777. This prevents users deleting each other's files.

[joseppi]

Thanks again for that correction.
Very helpful.

[Bald Brick]

I can't understand exactly what you are doing with su in root account?

I suppose this is off topic, but the question has to be answered -- simply because it still pops up.

Using the su command is not just a way of becoming root. It does not stand for "super user". It stands for "substitute user" and lets you become any user on your system, if you just know that user's password.

This can be useful even if you are logged in as root. The syntax of the command in its simplest form is

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su <username>after which you will be asked for username's password. If you don't specify the name of the user you wish to become, it's understood to be root.

So su-ing to ordinary users while logged in as root was a very sensible thing to do in joseppi's case.

[uncleV]

I know this but when you are root you are not asked for password of the user when you do
su <user>
You log strait to users account.
And joseppi

I can login as root and then 'su' and enter the password for any of the established user names and all the files show the correct user name as the owner of the files that are there, but I cannot login to any of them.

That why I was wondering.

[Bald Brick]

You are so right, uncleV. My mistake.

Why joseppi used su to become some of his users is no mystery. Why he had to enter their passwords is.

[uncleV]

Well, joseppi said problem is solved so let's not worry (till now).