How to Login as Root in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to enable login as Root account in Ubuntu 13.10 LightDM login screen.

NOTE: it is not recommended to do so unless you know exactly what you are doing. Root is a superuser, meaning it can do anything and everything – it is only meant for administrative tasks. Day-for-day tasks can bear a security risk that WILL be exploited if EVERYONE (or a large proportion of users) used root.

To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command below to set a password as well as enable root:

sudo passwd root

handbook@handbook-1310:~$ sudo passwd root
[sudo] password for handbook: 
Enter new UNIX password: 
Retype new UNIX password: 
passwd: password updated successfully

Then run command to allow manually type in username and password to login in LightDM.

sudo gedit /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d/50-unity-greeter.conf

Add the below line and save the file:

greeter-show-manual-login=true

Now reboot your machine and you’ll see a new option “Login”, type root and the password to login.

If you change your mind, run command to disable root account:

sudo passwd -l root

handbook@handbook-1310:~$ sudo passwd -l root
[sudo] password for handbook: 
passwd: password expiry information changed.