sudo passwd root -- operation not permitted

[joe at actionline.com]

Thanks Brian.  Once again, you provided the necessary diagnosis,
(though I did need to make one additional change).

The problem was, indeed, with file/dir ownership and permissions.

sudo chown -R joe.joe /home/joe fixed most of the problem
and prompted me to realize that because I could login as 'joe'
on a CTRL+ALT+F1 terminal and gain 'root' access, I was then
able to also change ownership and permissions on some additional
(higher) files that the above sudo command did not fix.

In any case, it all seems to be working now, and I have learned
yet another important lesson.

Thanks again.

Joe

== Brian last wrote:
> Sounds like you don't have write permission to the joe home directory.
> The graphical environments need to be able to write to log in, while the
> terminals don't.
>
> My guess is that your login User ID and Group ID from your old home
> directory didn't line up with the new install, or your drive is mounted
> read only.
>
> I would login as joe to an console via ctrl+alt+f1 and then do:
> sudo chown -R joe.joe /home/joe
>
> That should fix you right up.
>
> Brian Cluff