By default root does not have a password and the root account is locked until you give it a password. When you installed Ubuntu you were asked to create a user with a password. If you gave this user a password as requested then this is the password you need. If not, or you have forgotten it, then you need to set a password.. When I go to Network Preferences and click the lock icon on the lower left corner, I am prompted for my username and password. I simply enter my password and the lock icon becomes unlocked. But when I go to a shell and enter su, I get this: $ su Password: su: Sorry What password do I enter here?
simily giving "su" or "su -" will prompt for root password. "su