Re: more problems with su and sudo

[David Christensen <dpchrist@holgerdanske.com>]

On 6/30/25 18:58, Maureen L Thomas wrote:
> Ok guys, I finally had to reinstall Debian bookworm and lost all my 
> passwords.  I did get a refund on the VPN but have spent the last three 
> days changing all my passwords to get into the bills and pay them.  I 
> went for PIA VPN and followed instructions to get me into the root area.
>
> When I went to the terminal I first followed the directions which stated 
> sudo.  I put in my new password and with no way to check it I hit 
> enter.  Three times I did this and was very careful to put it in 
> correctly.  It would not take it and kept saying not accepted.
>
> So today I tried it again with just su and got the same results.
>
> I am at a complete loss.  If I can't get into the sudo file I cannot 
> install anything in root.  I really need your knowledge.   I always 
> double and sometimes triple check everything I do.  Passwords are 
> written down and double checked especially the new ones I made.
>
> Thank you in advance.
>
> Moe


Below, I have assumed that your normal user account name on your Debian 
computer is "moe".  If I have guessed wrong, please use the correct 
normal user account name in the commands below.


I assume you have downloaded the PIA VPN Linux software installer to 
your home directory:

    https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/download/linux-vpn

    pia-linux-3.6.1-08339.run


I assume the following command is failing:

$ sudo pia-linux-3.6.1-08339.run


Looking at /etc/sudoers, I see a clue:

    # Allow members of group sudo to execute any command
    %sudo	ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL


To add your normal user account to the group "sudo" manually:

1.  Open a terminal and substitute your login to the root account:

	$ su -

    Enter the root password when prompted.

2.  Verify that the terminal is now logged in as root:

	# whoami

3.  Add your account to the group "sudo":

	# usermod -a -G sudo moe

4.  Verify that your normal user account has been added:

	# grep sudo /etc/group

5.  Return the terminal login to your normal user account:

	# exit

6.  Close all windows/ apps and log out.


The next time you log in, sudo(8) should work:

$ sudo pia-linux-3.6.1-08339.run


David