how to: create a new user on linux

There are many reasons why you may want to have 2 or more different users in your machine. I did this because I wanted to have 2 separate logins one with the default AA1 interface and the other using KDE (my preferred GUI - graphical user interface-). when I tried to install it over the default GUI my menus and configuration for KDE would dissapear after a few reboots.
1- open a terminal, type su and press enter, then enter your password.
2- type the command: adduser username(meaning the name you want to give to the user)
3- create a new password for the user, type: passwd username, press enter and write the password.
4- if you want to give the user the ability to get online you will have to add the user to the "wheel" group (if you dont do this the user won't be able to run the NetworkManager), you can do that with this commans: usermod --append -G wheel username.
5- to stop automatic logins so you can choose the user for the login follow this how to viewtopic.php?f=39&t=363.
Once that everything is done you will be also able to choose the GUI you want from the "sessions" button on the login screen (you'll need to install it first with add/remove software)

 

That's useful - I was wondering about some method to let my daughter use the AAO sometimes without breaking my setup. If both users are going to Linpus lite, do they get the same menus, or can each one be customised separately?

 

Hi markh. yes each user is totally independent from the other, that means that you can configure everything the way you want, have your own files and folders etc. As I said you could even have 2 different graphical interfaces running with each user. Glad you find it useful.

 

Great post Jimyjazz !
Is it possible to switch user without rebooting, and keeping the automatic login ?

Here is my purpose : I want to use sometimes the AOA110 of my wife, with my own predefined parameters for skype, messenger etc... But I don't want that she has to login when she uses her netbook. So the automatic login would be on her account, and if I want to use the AOA I would like just to switch to my account.

 

Thanks, jimmyjaz. I had the same question as pdemong, actually. Following the link above, I get the idea that we need to launch gdm, which is the login manager that would give you loging options at startup if you wanted them, but I'm unsure if that will work once already logged on. I will have a try later.

 

in the original version of xfce when you press the quit button you get the option to switch users, on the customized AA1 you can only suspend, lock, restart or switch off. In KDE when you write click on the desktop you also get the option of switching users.
There is probably a way of enabling that with the default xfce interface but I don't know how to do it.
Without trying to be a kde fan boy I'd encourage every body to try the kde interface, it gives you tons of customization options (some people would argue that too many but you don't need to use them if you don't want to); in theory xfce is a lighter interface but for me kde feels much quicker and responsive and less resource demanding.

 

Thanks, jimyjaz. I want to persevere with the Linpus lite setup as much as I can (possibly out of stubborness!). I'll have to go trawling for some info, unless anyone else can solve the problem. Reading that early link a bit better, I can see that "xinit" is launched at startup, but I have no idea beyond that, so off to google I go....

 

Hi

Did this just work for You guys with no further problems?

Everything seemed to work ok when doing the modifications.. creating new users and enabling login gui - but I'm having problems after logging in with the new user:

1: Sound don't work. When clicking speaker icon or choosing sound settings, I get "No volume control GStreamer plugins and/or devices found"

2: "Connect" menu don't work when "extending" it (clicking arrow). Screen just goes gray blank - except for the AspireOne logo and the search bar. (the bottom menu is also still there). I can't recover from this without rebooting.


Any help would be greatly appreciated!! - Linpus should have enabled user profiles as default.

 

Hi klj, did you add the user to the 'wheel' group with the command "usermod --append -G wheel username"? (where username= the name you gave the user), if you did that try adding the user to the root group as well "usermod --append -G wheel username". Some times users need special privileges to access some services like sound, network, mount hardisks etc. Good luck

 

Hi!

Adding the user to root group did the trick... I thought that would eliminate the need for sudo, thus compromising security - but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Thank You very much for Your help!!!

 

Good to know it worked, as you said you'll still need to enter your password if you need to do administration changes so it should be as save as your default account. Take care

 

Hi Jimyjazz, firstly, great post! Is it possible to remove a user when its on there? Is it basically just typing:

removeuser username

?

 

hi gaztaag, glad you find it useful. To remove users type the command: userdel -r username . these will delete the user (userdel) and its folders (-r). Cheers

 

whoa great find! is it possible to run koro's custom desktop script on the 'other' user without affecting my default 'user'? if so, excellent!

 

if you would tell me how you managed to install kde on the other 'user' , i would be more than glad to test kde and see if i'll like it. i like xfce more than gnome and havn't tried kde yet.

amarok is a kde music player that i like more than rythmbox so i think if i can try, i will like kde. please teach me how.

 

Hi jhedrotten, to install KDE simply open the add/remove software (menu=system= add/remove software), I'm assuming here that you have the xfce menu enable.
Once the add/remove program opens type kde in the search field and you will see many different packages belonging to the kde desktop environment. You need to then select the packages for installation. I don't exactly remember the exact ones I choose but make sure you include the packages named "kde base desktop", "kde administration tools" any packages that mention kde libraries, kde runtime environment, kde files system(this are not the exact names but when you are looking at the different packages you'll see what I mean), and others with similar names to these ones. you DON'T need to download any packages with the numbering 4.1, 4.0, you want to download the ones that are numbered 3.5, also you DON't need any packages that are described as development. DON'T download any programs having anything to do with networking as the installer would complain about some sort of conflict during installation (thats why it is not possible to install kde from the metapackage that you'll see on the first screen of the add/remove program) some Packages such as Artwork, accessibility graphic tools are optional so you could download them if you have plenty of space on your hdd.
Let me know if you get stuck at some point and i'll try to back trace the exact packages I used. If the only thing that you want is to use amarok you could download that application on its own. Take care

 

okay, thanks. i wonder why kde4 won't work? by the way, i use smart package manager and not pirut. i hope it doesn't make any difference.

 

I am now looking at User Interface after I have put KDE in the searchbar. I can only see one KDE 4 here, let me try getting some of these packages now.

 

thanks, i have now a working KDE desktop on the other user. thanks a lot.

 

I have recently bought an AA1 and created new users and disabled auto login as described. Unfortunately adding the users tothe root group hasn't done the trick for me. Still can't access volume control and webcam, probably other things I haven't noticed yet.

Has anyone over come this problem. I'm fairly new to linux so straight forward replies would be appreciated!