[GRASS-user] Newbie question on g.region

[gary]

For some reason, the moderator isn't approving this message, but I'll 
post it again assuming a computer glitch.

Yes, I know it is frustrating to deal with newbies, but we all have to 
start somewhere.

My ultimate goal for GRASS is to do viewshed analysis with r.los. I have 
downloaded NED files from the USGS seamless website. I have also managed 
to convert the .adf file to geotiff using gdal_translate.

My problem concerns starting up GRASS. When I try to run r.in.gdal, I 
get an error message regarding the default region is not set. I gather 
I'm not initializing GRASS properly.

I'm using my own PC, so I can run as root to avoid directory permission 
issues.

I have the "Grass 6 in a nutshell handy" if you need to reference it.

Thanks in advance.