> On a whim, I tried to vi a new file, I was unable to do this.
 > 
 > Unless I am su'd to root, I cannot open or modify any files....
 > Any thoughts on this?

It's possible that /tmp is not writable by you. 
That's where vi makes it's temp files.
-ASC

Andrew S. Clapp                                                 Sedona Internet
Systems Administrator                                         andrew@sedona.net