The two standard programs for this purpose are useradd and adduser. I can
never remember which is which (the names aren't all that hard to mix up,
after all),but both work on systems I am familiar with.
So ...
1. Try adduser.
2. Check if you are using a version of "useradd" that doesn't go with your
system. Possibly it assumes regular passwords, while your system uses shadow
passwords.
3. Do it by hand. This is a bit tricky, but the steps are:
A. Use an editor to add an entry to /etc/passwd . BE VERY CAREFUL in
doing this; if you mess up the file, you can make all logins impossible,
(That's why we have apps like useradd and adduser.) Use an existing entry as
a template for the new one.
B. Assuming you use shadow passwords, add a similar entry in
/etc/shadow .
C. Run "passwd" to give the account a password.
D. Create the account's home directory; e.g.,
mkdir /home/someuser
chown someuser /home/someuser
chgrp somegroup /home/someuser
This is barebones, but it will get a new account working.
4. IF none of these solutions appeals to you, write again, but this time
include enough detail that we have a shot at figuring out what is wrong with
"useradd". At the least, tell us what distribution, version, and kernel
version ("uname -a") of Linux you are using; whether it uses regular or
shadow passwords; and how the failures of useradd manifest themselves (what
message do you get when logging i; what is the entry created in /etc/passwd;
what is the entry created in /etc/shadow?).
At 02:51 PM 3/13/00 -0000, Archana Bharathidasan wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I would like to know in detail the steps to add a non-priviledged user
account in linux. Useradd doesnt work...it adds the newuser to the passwd
file but I am not able to login using that name and password. Please help!
------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"---
Ray Olszewski -- Han Solo
Palo Alto, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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