1.3. Logging In
The next step to using your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system is to log in. When you log
in, you are introducing yourself to the system (also called
authentication). If you type the wrong user name or
password, you will not be allowed access to your system.
Unlike some other operating systems, your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system uses accounts
to manage privileges, maintain security, and more. Not all accounts are
created equal: some accounts have fewer rights to access files or
services than others.
 | Note |
|---|
| | Red Hat Enterprise Linux applications and files are case
sensitive, which means that typing
root refers to a different account
than Root. By default,
root refers to the root user (also
known as the superuser), or system administrator.
|
If you have already created and logged in to a user account, you can
skip ahead to Chapter 2 Using the Graphical Desktop. If you created only the root
account, refer to Section 1.6 Creating a User Account to learn
how to set up a user account.
If you did not create a user account using the
Setup Agent, you must log in as
root. After you create a user account, it is highly recommended that you
log in as that user instead of root to prevent accidental damage to your
Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation.
 | Caution |
|---|
| | Because your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system creates the root account during
installation, some new users are tempted to use only this account for
all of their activities. This is a dangerous idea, because the root
account is allowed to do anything on the system. You can easily damage
your system by accidentally deleting or modifying sensitive system
files. You may be tempted to forego creating and using a user account
during or after installation, but it is not
recommended.
|
1.3.1. Graphical Login
When your system has booted, a graphical login screen is displayed as
shown in Figure 1-14. Again, unless you have
chosen to give your machine its own hostname, which is primarily used
in a network setting, your machine will probably be called
localhost.
To log in as root from the graphical login screen, type
root at the login prompt, press
[Enter], type the root password that you chose during
installation at the password prompt, and press
[Enter]. To log in as a normal user, type your username
at the login prompt, press [Enter], type your password
that you selected when creating the user at the password prompt, and
press [Enter].
Logging in from the graphical login screen automatically starts the
graphical desktop for you.
1.3.2. Virtual Console Login
During installation, if you selected an installation type other than
Workstation or Personal Desktop and chose text as your login type, you
will see a login prompt similar to the following after booting your
system:
Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 4
Kernel 2.4.21-3.EL on an i686
localhost login: |
Unless you have chosen to give your machine its own hostname, which is
primarily used in a network setting, your machine will probably be
called localhost.localdomain.
To log in as root from the console, type root
at the login prompt, press [Enter], then type the root
password that you chose during installation at the password prompt and
press [Enter]. To log in as a normal user, type your
username at the login prompt, press [Enter], type your
password that you selected when creating the user at the password
prompt, and press [Enter].
After logging in, you can type the command startx to
start the graphical desktop.
