# haywire



## john*3.1415 (Oct 5, 2018)

A strained ego...Yeah what ever....learned to use some of  unix years ago...that is how to  use BASH/Vi etc., and  procedural  {shell} programing.  Went  over to Linux since then and recently elected to, and  now have Ubuntu 18.04 installed with dual  boot BSD 11.2.
Cognitive Dissonance" like sitting on a thumbtack only it is psychological/intellectual/ mental.
*!@&*!#. I realize that I don't speak tech geek well enough to properly and correctly address someone knowledgeable in the area I need  help in with (the correct form/dialect/techspeak.)
Man! like WOW....I  can  use unix for what I need if I could just get in to  the bleeping system.
I now  have the BSD 11.2 OS installed as a dual boot with Ubuntu Linux 18.04. The plan was to finally go back to unix. BUT! I can't get in my own bleeping BSD  system. I have  a user name and  a password for it that was created when the  system was installed by a tech in a shop where I bought the laptop. I assumed that from  there I could use sudo to make changes in the permissions so that I could
 1.shut down  the system with out having  to press the power switch
,2. change the permissions on my home directory so that  I could set the font  size on the command line which is so tiny, and  of course the other data  on  the command line, the time, date,directory,command number etc.
But nooooo (and here if you read this far, use  the nooooo of  the John Belushi type, if you  will, to get the right twist on  the Nooo). I can't  get  in to  or  figure out how to get the sudo command  to work. when I tried to load the package for  sudo with: pkg install sudo   I get Permission denied.
 Round and  round....Wow...what a bummer.
Hey I realize that someone who is knowledgeable about unix BSD would laugh this  off  so  ha ha  ha. OK laugh at this bungling question.....
Still...if you have read  this far can you please  tell me how I  can set  the permissions WHAT EVER IT TAKES so that I can fire up the  device arrive at the command  line after I enter my user name and password and then have permission in the  root and  in my /user/home/john  (john is my home directory) so that I can shut down the device, change permissions in directories including the root so  that I can set  the  font  size on  the command line and the other command  line settings which I know how to do once I get permission to do so.
This probably all seems  somewhat amusing to a smug expert who reads  this kind  of commentary for amusement. I am at wits end with this problem. I need to  be  able  to set the  permissions for the root and my home directory so that can shut the  device  down and so  that i can change the font. If I can't get these two or three simple things straightened out and  fixed in my personal memory and understanding  of  BSD, my quest to use the system and possibly  make  some  kind of contribution at some  level  eventually is/will be impossible.

HELP! If you can. Thanks!


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## SirDice (Oct 5, 2018)

A wall of text, I've read it multiple times. And I still don't know what you're having problems with. 

How to ask questions the smart way; Be precise and informative about your problem


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## Deleted member 30996 (Oct 5, 2018)

john*3.1415 said:


> If I can't get these two or three simple things straightened out and  fixed in my personal memory and understanding  of  BSD, my quest to use the system and possibly  make  some  kind of contribution at some  level  eventually is/will be impossible.
> 
> HELP! If you can. Thanks!



Your frustration stems from letting someone else build your system and now you have to deal with how they set it up.

It just goes to show you that if you want something done right, do it yourself.

Relax. I would recommend building over what the tech installed for you and rebuilding it yourself. If you can manage to install it on your HDD without hosing that other thing you use as an OS, but then if it was me I'd wipe it and use the whole disk.

It just so happens there is a beginners tutorial that will tell you how to do just that. It uses ports but you can substitute the use of pkg and the rest of the outline still be applicable:

https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/...-set-up-a-freebsd-desktop-from-scratch.61659/

But, with all due respect, if the current situation causes you consternation to that extreme, you have a long road ahead of you.


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## john*3.1415 (Oct 6, 2018)

Thanx!
I had thought that it would be best to go the route  you are suggesting;  reinstall BSD following established procedure as probably provided at the  web site you recommend.
I honestly want to thank you taking the time and  making  the effort to wise me up on  this. Maybe you got a little chuckle out of it too. Good on you!
The fact of the  matter, significant to me  here, is  that I assumed that there was a set of key strokes I could enter on  the tiny fonted command line that would result in me having permissions to the root and thus my various directories such that I could then load the sudo program then change  the font so I could  read the command line without special glasses and then  go on to decipher it and finally move on to the shell programing I can  do and want to do with  BSD if I can get  it installed properly. I am not asking for  sympathy.I am trying to get my bleeping foot in the bleeping BSD door.
I tried to end run  the  problem. I paid someone to install BSD so that I could then go over all the installment features later on and figure it out piece by piece. I was beaten again by someone who accepted the money I paid for  this and  then refused to follow through. This says something  to me  about  my strategy of  general trust in  other people and demonstrates, once again how trying to build up trust is such a  sham in  the world of business. Thanks again for letting  me know I havegotten  yet another bloody nose as a result of trusting someone more or less anonymously when  money is exchanged,  a person who seemed so affable and legitimate and sincere.
I will take another shot at this....Thanks again


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## max21 (Oct 10, 2018)

john*3.1415 said:


> Thanx!
> ....
> Thanks again for letting  me know I havegotten  yet another bloody nose as a result of trusting someone more or less anonymously when  money is exchanged,  a person who seemed so affable and legitimate and sincere.
> I will take another shot at this....Thanks again


I remember my FreeBSD first days.  Those were the fun days.  The trick is to get use to the installer.  Just do it so much in many difference sizes.  You will realize partitioning and slice work will be the entire future of your systems, ending with all kinds of escapes to restore your system should any type crisis come about.  That’s the goal!

Then you move on.  Better yet do some shell-programming destroy the system and what not while you got the chance to learn.  Then re-install just to see how quickly to can get back to that setup (so on, so on, and so on).   Other than that, don’t rush it, but do read the manual as needed.   I wasted at least 6 years doing mostly trial & error with skimpy-reading.  That don’t really work.  The only real advice I can supply is never allow anyone to install your FreeBSD system especially if you are planning for security and if you want to learn your system like the back of your hand; there is no other way but to do it yourself.  Within a few days ... it's ON!

Good Luck.


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## ronaldlees (Oct 12, 2018)

So, your paid helper gave you the user login, but not the root password?  If that's the case, you boot into single user mode and change the password to whatever you want.  Of course, like Sir Dice, I may not understand your question.  But, the reinstall idea seems prudent in light of a paid helper who didn't give you the password?  A little confused on this end.

BTW: Welcome to the forum!


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