Logging into the Desktop
This section of the Fedora Desktop User Guide explains how to identify yourself, or login, to your system. During the post-installation process, you created an identity with a user name and password, called an account. If you have forgotten any of your user account details, please read the section I Cannot Login: HELP! . For additional information about the login process, refer to the section Logging In: An Explanation.
Login
When you restart or turn on your computer, it goes through a process called booting. During the boot process your computer hardware powers on and performs a series of self-tests. Immediately after the computer has finished booting, the login screen appears. The login screen displays one or more user names, depending on how many accounts are present.
To login, do one of the following:
- Type your username and then press the [Enter] key. The username is case sensitive.
- Select your user name from the list of one or more choices.
Next, type your password and press the [Enter] key again. The password is also case sensitive.
To keep your password secret, the password field displays a dot for every character entered. As with any password, keep your Fedora account password private. Do not share it with anyone or write it down in plain view.
Next the desktop environment is loaded. In some desktop environments, a small box containing a logo and icons, called a splash screen, may temporarily appear. Any splash screen is then replaced by the default Fedora desktop.
The computer is now ready for use.
Logging In: An Explanation
Fedora is a multi-user operating system. Multiple users, each with different access privileges, can be logged into the computer at the same time.
During installation, you provided a password for the system administrator account, sometimes called the superuser. The username for this account is root.
After installation, Fedora asked you to set up a normal user account. Use that account, or another normal account, for daily use of the system. and the root account for administrative and maintenance tasks.
This design has many benefits:
- Limited privileges reduce the possibility of doing significant damage to the entire system.
- Each user account has individual settings.
- Each user account maintains its data separate and private from others.
- A problem in one user account does not put the entire system at risk.
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Do not use the
root account for routine purposes. A normal user account can run all desktop applications, and greatly increases your security and safety. Applications that require root privileges prompt you for the root password when they start, so you need not login as root to use them.I Cannot Login: HELP!
A common mistake during login is accidentally having the [Caps Lock] key turned on. This situation can cause the login process to fail because usernames and passwords are case sensitive. If problems persist, re-enter your username and password a few times to ensure you have typed them correctly.
Recovering the password for a user account is not a difficult process, but it is beyond the scope of this guide. For an explanation and details of how to do this, please refer to the User Accounts section of the Fedora Administration Guide.
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