hi cartertem: If you installed a gui which uses gdm, press windows alt s to start orca. If using the console, type your username, hit enter, wait about 4 to 5 seconds to make sure the password prompt is up, then type in your password. Once you're logged in, assuming you're using bash as your default shell, when you hit backspace, if you're logged in correctly, you should hear the 750 mhz console beep. If not, rince, wash and repeat the login process. Once you're logged in, type in the following: su -c "systemctl start espeakup", type in your root password, and give that enter key a wacking it'l never forget. If you're using sudo to make root things happen, it's sudo systemctl start espeakup. If you're using debian from the age of the dinosaurs, which uses init.d scripts, instead of systemctl start espeakup, it'll be /etc/init.d/espeakup start. For installs where you set a root password, it's su -c "/etc/init.d/espeakup start", and for our friend good old sudo, it's sudo /etc/init.d/espeakup start. In case there's a bit of confusion, for sudo, you use your user's login password. I'm also pretty sure that with certain versions of debian, regardless of init.d or systemd, the init.d method should always work. hth