Tell me more ×
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

I know the command to get to your Desktop is cd ~/Desktop. This however does not work as the root user. However I need to be the root user because I would like to move a file, from my desktop into my /mnt/disk folder so that I can mount my .iso. I can't click-and-drag either as I do not have permission. I've been trying for about an hour and am quite frustrated; so any and all help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

share|improve this question
what distro/desktop environment? and why can't you use a terminal to do it? – Journeyman Geek Sep 23 '11 at 8:19
I can use the terminal, I just don't know how. I'm using Ubuntu 10.10 --- GNOME too I believe. – Johannes Sep 23 '11 at 8:20
What do you mean by "it does not work"? – vtest Sep 23 '11 at 8:21
The command, cd ~/Desktop doesn't work. It says the directory cannot be found (because it is basing it off of /root, not /home) – Johannes Sep 23 '11 at 8:27

2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

If you want to access a folder under another users home directory instead of using ~ you need to use ~username. So I would do something like ~zoredache/Desktop. You could also simply use the full path. Typically on a Linux system the home directories are under /home, so you could use cd /home/zoredache/Desktop.

If you cannot access your home directory while logged in as root, then that indicates that you may be try to access a filesystem that was mounted with fuse. As a security measure, by default, fuse will setup restrictions to prevent any else from accessing the filesystem except the user that mounted it.

share|improve this answer
Whenever I tried going through my user it said that the file/directory does not exist =/ – Johannes Sep 23 '11 at 8:26
But using your line it worked, thank you... now let's see if I can figure the rest out :] – Johannes Sep 23 '11 at 8:29
what he wants,seems to be to mount the ISO - which dosen't actually involve moving the disk at all. – Journeyman Geek Sep 23 '11 at 9:32
up vote 0 down vote

If you want to open Nautilus window with root permissions you can run (Alt+F2) command:

gksudo nautilus

You will be asked for your password, but in that window, the Home and Desktop will be from root's perspective, so you will have to browse to your desktops in that window.

Close it when you done, and be carefull. You can remove /bin/ or /boot/ for example.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.