Ubuntu

I have a Sun Blade 1000 machine that I installed Ubuntu 7.10 SPARC onto. The only user configured (configure during install) cannot use sudo. When I try to issue a command using sudo (ex. sudo apt-get install) it asks me for my password and returns the error "user not found in sudoers file". I need the ability to sudo so I can finish install the software I want on the machine. with out sudo access on my only user account im basicly screwed. Any help is greatly appreciated.

If you can't sudo or login to root, you can't sudo login to root, and can't fix the system from the inside.

You can fix it from the outside though, by booting a rescue CD of some sort, after which you can mount your partitions and edit your passwd files and so forth by hand. You might even be able to chroot into it: chroot /path/to/rootmountpoint /bin/sh and run passwd from there to change root's password, usermod ... to modify user groups, etc. Remember that, usually, to use sudo you have to be in the wheel group.

used visudo to edit the sudoers file. added username ALL=(ALL) ALL and that didn't work. I then tried enabling the no password option (i know that is a high UNrecommended option, but i just wanted to try it) and that didn't work. I get the same error :
"username is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.
sendmail: fatal : open /etc/postfix/main.cf: No such file or directory"

I have been having many issues with installing a new OS on this Blade 1000. I'm pretty new to lLinux, but I'm beginning to suspect that I'm having issues with the partitions on my hard drive.

Ideas? Questions? Comments? Any help is appreciated.

---------- Post updated at 02:22 PM ---------- Previous update was at 01:48 PM ----------

When using a boot disk in rescue mode I cd into "boot" and saw that it was empty. What does that mean?

Ah, you have a working visudo, then? It means there's nothing on that folder. Your partitions don't just mount themselves when booting a rescue CD, that's your job.

---------- Post updated at 12:47 PM ---------- Previous update was at 12:46 PM ----------

Like what?

I solved the problem by running a rescue disk, then mounting my partition and using visudo to give my user sudo rights.