Login/Logout

When you sit down at a Linux computer in the computer science lab (room Lansing 310), you will see a log-in screen with a space for you to fill in your user name. Do so, press return, and there will be a space for your password. Enter your password, and press return again.

Your user name should be the same as the user name that you use on other campus systems such as the Windows network. A password for the Linux system was assigned to you when your account was created. It is probably not the same as your Windows password. You are free to change this password, if you want, as described below. If you forget your password, you will have to ask the system administrator to assign you a new one. Contact Professor David Eck (eck@hws.edu).

It might take some time -- ten or fifteen seconds, maybe more the first time you log in -- for the desktop to appear. Be patient.

You should always log out when you are finished with a computer in the Math/CS computer lab. Use the "Logout" button in the Start menu, or just hit Control-Alt-Delete, to log out.

Logging in from Rosenberg 009

The computers in Rosenberg 009 are "dual-boot" machines that can run either Windows or Linux. If the computer is not already running Linux, you need to start or restart it. As it reboots, it will bring up a screen that shows "Windows" and "Linux" as the two top choices. Press the down-arrow key to select linux, and then press return. You have about 10 seconds to do this, or the computer will boot automatically into Windows. It will then take some time for the computer to start Linux. After it does, the computer is ready to be used in exactly the same way as the computers in the CS lab that were described above, with a Linux login screen.

When you are finished using Linux on one of the computers in Rosenberg, you should always remember to restart the computer, and lete it reboot into Windows. If you are at the Linux log-in screen, you will see a power icon in the upper left that you can use for restarting the computer.

Changing Your Password

It's easy to change your password. Just log in as usual, open a command line window, and enter the passwd command. (Note the spelling: passwd not password.) You will be asked for your old password, then for the new password. Finally, you will be asked to re-type the new password to verify it. Press return after entering each password. The computer does not show the characters that you type! The computer will reject your password if it is too weak. A good password should use a mixture of letters and symbols or of upper case and lower case letters.

Logging in from Other Computers

It is possible to access Linux over the network from another computer. You can do that using ssh, Ssh gives you a command-line connection.