Can't update: Some sys opt gone

amy

A friend that knows linux but not ubuntu got my hung up machine working again.  However, a ton of system administration options are gone.  Most importantly, I can't upgrade or update. The manager gives me this error...

Failed to run /usr/sbin/synaptic '--hide-main-window' '--non-interactive' '--parent-window-id' '33554435' '--progress-str' 'Please wait, this can take some time.' '--finish-str' 'Update is complete' '--set-selections-file' '/tmp/tmpl4wsPv' as user root.

The underlying authorization mechanism (sudo) does not allow you to run this program. Contact the system administrator.

What do I do now?  Thank you.