I don't know if this is related... This is for ESX which is a red hat compatible linux.

edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config: add "permitRootLogin yes"
perform "/etc/init.d/sshd restart"

Actually, this is really not recommended, a security risk, are you former windows administrator who can only think about making a simple life but in return is really the reverse, why don't you just login as regular user then just do su or sudo.

itik