Newbie Questions Regarding <SU> Command & Running Periodic Updating

[gerard-seibert at rcn.com]

February 15, 2004

I am presently running FreeBSD version 5.2.

Question # 1:

When I type 'su' and subsequently type in my password, I am taken to the
root. However, certain programs; i.e., 'portupgrade' will not run. If I then
subsequently type 'su' I a, presented with a new prompt although no password
is requested. I can now run programs like 'portupgrade' without incident. I
am unable to find any documentation that states I should be running the 'su'
command twice. Can someone explain to me what is happening here? Is this
normal. Exactly how many levels are there? I thought that there were only
two: the log in level and root level. Is there a third level or is this some
sort of fluke.

Question # 2:

Second, while typing in search terms in Google, I came across this web site
- http://andrsn.stanford.edu/FreeBSD/newuser.html

You will notice the entry about updating the database for the 'whereis' and
'locate' commands. I have read the manual on 'locate' and tried running the
files mentioned manually, but alias all I receive is an error message that
the command does not exist. Again, I have no idea what I am doing
incorrectly. Any assistance would be appreciated.


Thanks in advance!

Gerard E. Seibert
gerard-seibert at rcn.com