Q&A for How to Become Root in Linux

Type in "sudo usermod -aG sudo " replacing the username of the user you want to grant superuser access.

Yes. The root account must be unlocked first if you're using Ubuntu. Follow the instructions in method two. If you're not using Ubuntu, check your distribution's documentation.

It designates a home folder (typically aliased to the current user's home folder).

Being a normal user, you cannot change the password of a root using a 'passwd' command, even though you are using sudo and having superuser access.You need to break the password at the grub prompt or, if you are using Ubuntu 16.04, you could do the changes in the recovery mode.

You would usually use your system's package manager. In Ubuntu and Debian, that's APT, and you would type a command like "sudo apt-get install nameOfTheProgramHere". Other distributions use Yum, PacMan, or some other package manager. If the package manager doesn't provide the package you want, you can compile a program from source. This is often done by writing "./configure", then "make", then "sudo make install", but this can differ and you should follow the instructions on its website. Note that programs compiled from source can be hard to update or uninstall.

Reboot the computer. Some other process is using files that password needs to operate.

You need to set the password for the root first by "sudo passwd root", enter your password once and then root's new password twice. Then type in "su -" and enter the password you just set. Another way of gaining root access is "sudo su" but this time enter your password instead of the root's.