what is a superuser

what do i do about that

Type "sudo" before the command (ignore the quotes)

e.g.

sudo dpkg --configure -a

This basically grants the command following the sudo privileged rights to be able to carry out a task.

where do i type that im in a list it wont let you do anything .

i do the sudodpkg it takes me to a list but you must be a superuser or read only

If you go to a terminal window (Applications menu, accessories) and type the following

su

That should elevate your terminal window to superuser for all subsequent commands.

authentication denied on the su

Do you have the root user password for that machine?
Sounds like you typed the wrong password.

alternatively try

sudo gnome-terminal

This will open another terminal window but this one will have superuser rights for all commands.

Hello

To use root you use the sudo command because superuser is disabled by default in ubuntu. More advice here:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

to run a command as superuser, type sudo before the command:

sudo dpkg -i packagename.deb

Where package name is the name of the package you are installing

Before installing a package like this, see if it is in synaptic (system -> administration -> synaptic package manager) This is the common way of installing new software in ubuntu.

To get extra software see this howto:

http://psychocats.net/ubuntu/sources

In order to become Root in Ubuntu, one needs to enable the Root account. Below you'll find the steps to enable your Root account in Ubuntu:

In the terminal: (applications -> accessories -> terminal)

$ sudo passwd root <enter regular user password> <enter new Root password> <repeat new Root password>

Regards

Bhavani Shankar.

Note that
1. enabling the superuser account is generally a Bad Thing
2. You can get a root terminal by typing sudo -i
3. For graphical programs (like synaptic, unlike aptitude or apt-get), use either gksu or kdesu for GNOME and KDE respectively instead of sudo
4. To lock/disable an account (so you can't log in directly as that account, like with root normally), type sudo -l <account> to lock the superuser: sudo -l root

Oh, and you need to /start/ dpkg etc. with sudo