In order for the user and the group "root" to be recognized and to be able to login, there need to be entries in the /etc/passwd and /etc/group file. Besides the group "root", a couple of other groups are recommended or needed by some packages. The groups created below aren't part of any standard. The LSB only recommends a group "bin" with GID 1 to be present besides "root". Other group names and GIDs can be chosen by the user. Well-written packages don't depend on GID numbers, but use the group's name; so it doesn't matter which GID a group has. Since there aren't any standards for groups, the groups created here are the groups the MAKEDEV script (the script that creates the device files in the /dev directory) mentions. Create a new file /etc/passwd by running the following command: echo "root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash" > /etc/passwd Create a new file /etc/group by running the following command: cat > /etc/group << "EOF" root:x:0: bin:x:1: sys:x:2: kmem:x:3: tty:x:4: tape:x:5: daemon:x:6: floppy:x:7: disk:x:8: lp:x:9: dialout:x:10: audio:x:11: EOF