Unable to update anything on new installation

[atrain...@gmail.com]

I'm really really stuck and I can't go forward no matter what I do. My goal is to create qubes to replace my current Linux OS as my every day OS, including watching DVD's, Netflix, etc. However, I've run into a huge amount of problems.

Right now I'm typing to you via the disposable VM. The personal one works fine too. I installed a VPN on my sys-net just fine. Tor refuses to connect, just gets stuck at 85%, so I installed my VPN, now gets stuck at 10% with bridges.

When I tried to follow the guide book for how to install a multimedia VM, Qubes was telling me it was unable to find xclip, either under Fedora or debian. In fact, the guide really needs to explain that "qvm-run" command needs to be ran inside dom0. I spent an hour and a half trying to get that command to work inside a new VM that I created realizing what it did afterwards. >.< Anyway, moving on...

Realizing I should probably update my VM's, I tried updating my VM's and I keep getting the same types of errors. When I try to do any kind of 'sudo qubes-dom0-update' commands, I get a 'Cannot retrieve repository metadata (repomd.mxl) for repository:fedora.ts path and try again', no matter how hard I try to make it work.

Same types of errors when trying to update the debian-9 and fedora-29 templateVM's. I need help please. I thought my internet was being blocked so I slapped on my VPN but I still get the same problem. It's a fresh install of Qubes.

[atrain...@gmail.com]

Well I found the issue. It's my Whonix. It's not working correctly. I think it's configured for Tor. How do I fix this?

[awokd]

atrain...@gmail.com wrote on 6/7/19 11:01 PM:

> I'm really really stuck and I can't go forward no matter what I do. My goal is to create qubes to replace my current Linux OS as my every day OS, including watching DVD's, Netflix, etc. However, I've run into a huge amount of problems.
>
> Right now I'm typing to you via the disposable VM. The personal one works fine too. I installed a VPN on my sys-net just fine. Tor refuses to connect, just gets stuck at 85%, so I installed my VPN, now gets stuck at 10% with bridges.

Make sure your clock is set accurately. If Tor alone normally works on
other devices at your location, try turning off the VPN and bridge
temporarily, then let it sit at 85% for an hour to see if it eventually
goes through. Tor over VPN without a bridge might also work. Also check
/var/log/tor/log in sys-whonix, but seems like you might be already.

> When I tried to follow the guide book for how to install a multimedia VM, Qubes was telling me it was unable to find xclip, either under Fedora or debian. In fact, the guide really needs to explain that "qvm-run" command needs to be ran inside dom0. I spent an hour and a half trying to get that command to work inside a new VM that I created realizing what it did afterwards. >.< Anyway, moving on...
>
> Realizing I should probably update my VM's, I tried updating my VM's and I keep getting the same types of errors. When I try to do any kind of 'sudo qubes-dom0-update' commands, I get a 'Cannot retrieve repository metadata (repomd.mxl) for repository:fedora.ts path and try again', no matter how hard I try to make it work.
>
> Same types of errors when trying to update the debian-9 and fedora-29 templateVM's. I need help please. I thought my internet was being blocked so I slapped on my VPN but I still get the same problem. It's a fresh install of Qubes.
>

When you installed Whonix as part of Qubes, you probably checked the box
to update over Tor. If Tor's unavailable, you won't be able to update
dom0 or templates. I don't think updates will help with the issues you
mentioned, but it is possible to change them back to not using Tor. In
dom0, you'd set "qubes-prefs updatevm sys-net" and edit
/etc/qubes-rpc/policy/qubes.UpdatesProxy by commenting out the
TemplateVM line with sys-whonix, which allows it to default to the one
below with sys-net.

[atrain...@gmail.com]

On Friday, June 7, 2019 at 8:04:22 PM UTC-4, awokd wrote:
> atra...ne@gmail.com wrote on 6/7/19 11:01 PM:

Yes, my intention was to do everything over Tor but since I could not get Tor working, I think this is where the problem is arising. I'll try your fix once my update is finished. I'm updating Whonix using the firewall. Probably not the safest method.

[atrain...@gmail.com]

On Friday, June 7, 2019 at 8:04:22 PM UTC-4, awokd wrote:

> atr...@gmail.com wrote on 6/7/19 11:01 PM:

Question... this may sound stupid, but in dom0, how do I get access to /etc/qubes-rpc/policy/qubes.UpdatesProxy?

[atrain...@gmail.com]

Looks like it's working well. I managed to use VI to edit the program. Not everything is working but I suspect a restart is required.

[brenda...@gmail.com]

On Friday, June 7, 2019 at 8:08:53 PM UTC-4, atrain...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Friday, June 7, 2019 at 8:04:22 PM UTC-4, awokd wrote:

> > atra...@gmail.com wrote on 6/7/19 11:01 PM:

awokd is right. it's usually the clock + timezone in the whonix VMs that is the problem. i believe whonix is configured to assume you set the local hardware clock to UTC. If the time/zone is significantly off expectations, it'll fail to connect. i think I had to sudo date --set=<full date/time/timezone> in both of the templates and possibly also in the non-disposable whonix VMs to get it to work, after first ensuring the same in dom0.

B