Hello. I have the debian-10 cube that i filled with applications… But i must have installed something in the wrong way.
I have some broken package now in the terminal, and i’m not sure that’s why i can’t even start a browser or the terminal now… debian-10 template one…
How do i troubleshoot debian-10 to start with? How do i repair the broken packages error in the terminal? Can’t enter a command if the terminal don’t pop up. I see that error from the Qubes manager if i try to update with the blue down-pointing arrow… But i can’t seem to enter a command in the terminal. Need to fix it somehow.
Where should i start to look? How do i troubleshoot it?
Edit. Some errors i get looks something like this in the updater:
–show-output, ´state.sls´ update.qubes-vm
returned non-zero exit sTATUS 20
debian-10:
ID: dsa-4371 update
comment:
Failed to get upgrades: Running spope as unit:
run-**bunch of numbers.scope
E: Unmet dependencies. Try apt–fix-broken install with no package or specify solution.
Thanks for the reply!
When i first tried i got:
Cannot revert dirty volume qubes_dom0/vm-debian-10-root, stop the qube first.
I shut down the qube tried again and got:
Got empty response from qubesd. See journalctl in dom0 for details.
edit: Another thing… Should the template debian have internet or VPN shut off all the time exept when installing applications or what? Just asking. Good to know.
And i guess i could try and just delete this template and start over again… But i did install some good programs so i would need to do that all over again… Hmm.
But i can start like libreoffice from debian-10 and so on… The terminal dont react when i press it though. I can’t start firefox, and other stuff…
I shut down the qube tried again and got: Got empty response from
qubesd. See journalctl in dom0 for details.
Did you check with qvm-ls if the qube was really shutdown?
I would recommend you try this again when the qube is down, it’s your
best shot at resolving this quickly. You are basically reverting to the
state of the qube before your latest changes. If you start/stop the
template more than once this will probably not help anymore.
edit: Another thing… Should the template debian have internet or VPN
shut off all the time exept when installing applications or what?
Templates should never have a netvm assigned (aka be always offline).
Qubes itself implements a proxy so your “apt” commands will still work.
And i guess i could try and just delete this template and start over
again… But i did install some good programs so i would need to do
that all over again… Hmm.
Did you install directly into debian-10? In that case you would need to
uninstall and reinstall that template.
Going forward you should make a clone of debian-10 and install your
software there, so it is easier to revert if you make a mistake. Also
you probably want to have different templates for different purposes and
not install everything in one template.
I gather you are just getting started?
But i can start like libreoffice from debian-10 and so on… The
terminal dont react when i press it though. I can’t start firefox,
and other stuff…
I am not sure I understand. What are you starting from where and what
does and does not work?
Aha! Good to know! And yes i’m a newbie and a beginner… But i like linux and try to learn some… You are computer gurus compared to me so i appreciate the help and your knowledge it’s amazing what you all know when it comes to computers.
Ok, good to know the templates should be offline. I did put them all online, because i did not know about the proxy until now. Thanks!
And yes i did install stuff directly into debian-10 because that’s how i should install programs in Qubes if i have not misunderstood the concept that is… ?
But ok, yeah… I could make a clone of debian-10 in the future and install stuff there, that should be better. Any link on that maybe?
What do you mean different templates for different purposes? le’s say i want stuff in work that i install in the debian 10 clone… is that not the right way? For work that is…
If i base work, or personal or whatever with debian-10… I thought i could just install lets say libreoffice in debian-10 and then have them in both work, personal, untrusted or which i set to debian-10 in domain qube settings… Am i doing it wrong?
I mean… I see you have changed from debian-10 to fedora-32 as default in most qubes now… And i have not changed that here… I might have on some old laptop. I might even install qubes from start there when i think about it. Fedora-32 also seems nice. I would prefer debian, but that might not even matter.
Should i install stuff in another way?
About starting stuff… I just tried the meny, scrolled down to debian-10 template, i click the terminal in the list and it don’t start or pop up. Only the libreoffice did pop up when i pressed the mouse button on that in the list earlier. Thanks!
edit: Thanks for the qvm-ls… I did try again and the command did go through… now…
But the terminal still don’t start. I might just format and install qubes again actually. And then make a copy of debian and so on… Thanks for your help anyways. Good to learn. I like the idea of working with cubes/qubes. It’s multiple OS in one. But im gonna re-install qubes and then learn more of it. I might get the hang of it eventually.
It’s fun to experiment.
Pardon… Much text… Rambling. But i decided to just re-install qubes and not change anything in menus and leave as default this time. What are good things to do after installing a fresh clean qubes?
Create a clone of debian and fedora 32 templates? What do you usually do after a fresh clean install? Thanks
edit: I set up VPN usually because i like it. But i do not create any clones of templates. I realize i should need to read the full guide/documentation and help section on learning qubes… Instead of experiment with it until i learn some.
I thought i could just install lets say libreoffice in debian-10 and
then have them in both work, personal, untrusted or which i set to
debian-10 in domain qube settings… Am i doing it wrong?
That’s perfectly fine, please ignore my previous comment. It was based
on my personal preferences and has nothing to do with how to use Qubes.
I see you have changed from debian-10 to fedora-32 as default in
most qubes now…
Fedora was always the default.
Fedora-32 also seems nice. I would prefer debian, but that might not
even matter.
It’s a matter of personal preferences. Both Fedora and Debian are
supported out of the box.
What are good things to do after installing a fresh clean qubes?
Create a clone of debian and fedora 32 templates? What do you usually
do after a fresh clean install?
I consider this a very good idea: keep the debian and fedora template
exactly as is so you can always refer back to them as a starting point.
Just make a clone of e.g. debian-10 to my-debian-10 and install
everything in there.
Also: if you are not sure if something will work it’s a smart idea to
make a clone first and try it in the clone. If it works well, then do it
for real with the actual template.
edit: I set up VPN usually because i like it. But i do not create
any clones of templates. I realize i should need to read the full
guide/documentation and help section on learning qubes… Instead of
experiment with it until i learn some.
It will save you a lot of time and frustration. The documentation on the
website is not that much, you can read through it comfortable in an hour
or two … at least so you know the topics and where what is.
Yes, that could be smart! I might try that.
I am using everything as default now. And it works nicely… I don’t know why i changed to debian earlier. After a fresh install yesterday it works nicely… Migt make a clone now as you wrote. It’s good to have. or some backup of the template i have now maybe is possible.
And yes, i should read it soon! It’s a good way to learn and it’s very well written and detailed!
Thanks! I might be a qubes user for a long time hehe. I just like it. It’s a very nice OS compared to like windows and other OS:es which is really really bad compared to this one in my opinion. I’m glad i switched from windows to linux! It’s a huge difference in quality.
The only downsize could be how fast it is… Linux mint is also nice. But you can’t have multiple VM’s like in qubes which i like… When laptops get’s faster qubes will advance even more and that’s nice. But i like how it runs now also.
I think it’s the best OS i have tried actually. Ever…
But the only downside is gaming though… But it’s better to have a gaming computer and OS for that. Who knows… Games might be supported in Qubes in the future in some dedicated VM when computers are even faster then now.
