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About the Login Window

juhani

juhani

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 30, 2004
58
0
All over the place (UK at this moment)
My login window is configured to show user accounts and their pictures. Like 'Juhani' (me), 'Guests' and 'Troubleshooting'. The Brad Miser's book refers that I should select 'Other' on the list to log in as 'Root'. The problem is that there is no 'Other' to select. Why? Is there any other way to access to the User Name and Password fields from there? Any keystroke or sth?

I know there should be a way 'cause when I was clicking around there and doing my 'trial and error' thing again, I made these fields appear. But it only happened once and I couldn't do it again…

PS. Of course I 'Enabled Root User' in the NetInfo Manager.
 
Try deleting the LoginWindow preference. It's located in /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow.plist.
 
Juhani, why do you want to log in as the root user? The average user has enough acces to the system as an admin user unless you're planning to seriously play around in the underlying system files. Which, judging from some of your other posts, I don't think would be a good idea until you're more familiar with Mac OS X and its structure.

If there's something specific that you're trying to do, why not post that and see if anyone can help without you having to delve into the darkest functions of root users?
 
juhani said:
Do you mean like really deleting it? :( Not just changing it? And from my Home folder Library or from the System Library? I guess HD/Library... yeah?
Click to expand...
Your guess of HD/Library is correct. By the way, one of the things that makes Mac OS X nice is the fact that if you delete a preference file, like MoparShaha is suggesting, the application it belongs to will create a new one with the default settings the next time that application is run. This is the main reason deleting preference files is suggested on Mac OS X (and Mac OS 9) as a way to fix problems.
 
Applespider said:
Juhani, why do you want to log in as the root user? The average user has enough acces to the system as an admin user unless you're planning to seriously play around in the underlying system files. Which, judging from some of your other posts, I don't think would be a good idea until you're more familiar with Mac OS X and its structure.
Click to expand...
I don't think you understood my issue. I asked how to get those Username and Password fields and why I can't see the Other button. But to answer your question: I'm taking through Brad Miser's "Special Edition Using Mac OS X" and I'm trying to learn this, indeed, very new operating system for me. Now when the book refers that I should see something which I'm not seeing you may guess that even 'an average' user might get a little worried. Or at least tries to find out what's wrong. Which IMHO is pretty natural.

Applespider said:
If there's something specific that you're trying to do, why not post that and see if anyone can help without you having to delve into the darkest functions of root users?
Click to expand...
Which is exactly what I'm trying to do. I want to know where the Other button went? I'm not really eager to use my Mac under Root account or do something geeky until I'm not ready for that. I just want my machine to work properly and still have the option whenever I need to use it.
 
Juhani - I wasn't trying to be dismissive of your efforts so I'm sorry if it came over like that. I can understand wanting to know more about a new OS to you and admire you for actually working through a book. Many people aren't prepared to put in that level of effort.

I just didn't want you to inadvertently muck something up when you were logged in as a root - and didn't realise you were asking as a 'walkthrough' bookchapter rather than after you'd checked the book because you were desperately trying to log in as 'root' to solve some other problem (the latter being more common on MR!)

Good luck in your learning!
 
I'm definitely gonna try the last one since deleting the preference file (twice) did not seem to work. BUT...

...I discovered another disturbing thing. Namely when I clicked just below (not on) the last button (which, in my case, is Troubleshooting) on the login window then a dialog box appeared on the screen which said:
_____________________________________________
Internal Error

***-[NSCFArray objectAtIndex:]: index (-1) beyond
bounds (3)

OK
_____________________________________________

So how would you interpret this?
 
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