Root

Root can mean different things in Linux:

• root partition is the partition with your system files in it.
  
• root file system is the ground level of your file system. You can go in no deeper.
  
  

root user is the Linux equivalent (more or less) to the Windows Administrator.

How to become root in a console

There are two methods outlined here.

root password

The root password was set during OS install

• Open a terminal aka console also referred to as command prompt:
  

su -

• You will be asked for the password (you may not see anything echoed on the screen while entering it).

user made an administrator

The user was made an administrator during OS install

• Open a terminal aka console also referred to as command prompt:
  

sudo su -

• You will be asked for the password (you may not see anything echoed on the screen while entering it). This will be the one for your user.

When you look at the prompt, you will see that the user name has changed to root@localhost or something similar. This indicates you now have root privileges

• Do whatever you needed as root
• When you are done, enter:

exit

You'll notice by looking at the prompt that you are the standard user again.

Also see Open Terminal as Root.