# Enable 'root' as standard user?



## Basher (Feb 14, 2009)

Is it possible to enable root as a standard users? All of the methods that I tried required an admin password.


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## ora (Feb 14, 2009)

Well if you don't have an admin password you shouldn't have root access anyway, its not your machine!

Even if you did have the admin password, making root the default user is not considered a good idea on modern Macs. I believe the best advice is just to use sudo.


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## Basher (Feb 14, 2009)

Sudu doesn't work. My friend was able to set up root on his computer (he is a standard user as well). So I don't know how he did it.


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## ora (Feb 14, 2009)

Well maybe someone else knows how, but it seems unlikely that a non-admin could be a root user without permission of the admin user.
If you tell us why you need root and sudo doesn't work then we may be able to be more helpful.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Feb 14, 2009)

For sudo to work, the user account you're trying to use the sudo command under must be listed in the UNIX "sudoers" file.  You can Google how to do this.

If you wish to enable the root user account and to be able to log in as root, do this:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1528

Again, I highly recommend taking ora's suggestion and not doing this.  There's nothing you can do with root that you can't already do with an administrator user account and sudo.


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## Basher (Feb 14, 2009)

Yeah the only problem with that link is that I'm not running as admin.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Feb 14, 2009)

Then run as admin.

If it's your computer, then do whatever you want (and if it is your computer, then you should have one or more administrator accounts to use).

If it's someone else's computer, then it should be easy enough to ask them for the admin password to enable root.  If they don't want to give it to you, or do not want you enabling the root user, then there's nothing more we can help you with here.


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