WSL Install on Windows10

An alternative to MSys: WSL Install on Windows10
Install WSL, the Windows Subsystem for Linux

A Windows Subsystem for Linux −Installation Guide for Windows10

Before installing any GNU Linux distributions on Windows10, you must enable the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” (WSL) optional feature in one of two ways:

Open Control Panel −> Programs and Features −> Turn Windows Feature On or Off −> Check Windows Subsystem for Linux

Open PowerShell as Administrator, and run: (copy the line from here!)

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart

To only install WSL 1, you should now restart your machine then move on to section: “Install your Linux distribution of choice”, …otherwise wait to restart and continue on to section: “Update to WSL 2”. (recomended…)

Read more about: >> Comparing WSL 2 and WSL 1.

Install and Update to WSL 2

To update to WSL 2, you must meet the following criteria:

Running Windows 10, updated to Version 2004, Build 19041 or higher.
Check your Windows® version by pressing the Windows key + R ,
then type winver, and select OK.
(or type VER at the Windows Command Prompt).
To update to the latest Windows® version if your build is lower than 19041. >> Get Windows Update Assistant.

Enable the ‘Virtual Machine Platform’ optional component

Before installing WSL 2, you must enable the “Virtual Machine Platform” optional feature. Open PowerShell as Administrator, and run: (copy the line from here!)

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart

Restart your computer to complete: “Install and Update to WSL 2”.

Set WSL 2 as your default Version

Run the following command from PowerShell as Administrator, to set WSL 2 as the default version when installing a new GNU Linux distribution. (recomended…)

wsl --set-default-version 2

You might see this message after running the above command:

WSL 2 requires an update to its kernel component.
For information please visit https://aka.ms/wsl2kernel

If so, follow this link: (https://aka.ms/wsl2kernel) and install the MSI
(MicroSoft Install) from that page, on the documentation to: “Install a GNU Linux kernel on your machine for WSL 2 to use”. Once you have the new kernel installed, Run the command above again and it should complete successfully without showing the error message.

Note: The update from WSL 1 to WSL 2 may take several minutes to complete depending on the size of your targeted GNU Linux distribution. (Ubuntu recommended…).

If you are running an older (legacy) installation of WSL 1 from Windows 10 Anniversary Update or Creators Update, you may encounter an update error. Follow these instructions to Uninstall and Remove any Legacy distributions.

If, from PowerShell wsl --set-default-version results as an invalid command, Enter wsl --help. If the --set-default-version option is not listed, it means that your OS doesn’t support it and you need to update to Windows 10 Version 2004, Build 19041 or higher.

Install your GNU Linux distribution of choice

Open the >> Microsoft Store, and select your favorite GNU Linux distribution. (Ubuntu recommended…)

The following links will open the Microsoft Store page for each GNU Linux distribution:
- Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (recomended…)
- openSUSE Leap 15.1
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1
- Debian GNU/Linux
- Kali Linux
- Alpine WSL (only a trial version!)
- Fedora Remix for WSL ($9.99)
- Pengwin ($19.99)
- Pengwin Enterprise ($99.99 $9.99)

From the distribution’s page, select: Get

Set up your new GNU Linux distribution

The first time you launch your newly installed GNU Linux distribution, a console window will open and you’ll be asked to wait for a minute or two for files to de-compress and be stored on your PC. All future launches should take less than a second or so.

You will then need to >> Create a user account and password for your new GNU Linux distribution. You will see the following messages and prompts:

Installing, this may take a few minutes…
Installation successful!
Please create a default UNIX user account. The username does not need to match your Windows username,
For more information visit: https://aka.ms/wslusers
Enter a new UNIX username:
Enter password:
Retype password:

This User Name and Password is specific to your Linux distribution and has no bearing on your Windows user name.
Once you create this User Name and Password, this account will be your default user for the distribution and will automatically sign-in at launch.
This account will be considered the Linux Administrator ( Super User), with the ability to run sudo (Super User Do) administrative commands.
Each Linux distribution running on the Windows Subsystem for Linux has its own Linux user accounts and passwords. You will need to configure a Linux user account every time you add a distribution, reinstall, or reset.

Set your distribution version to WSL 1 or WSL 2

You can check the WSL Version assigned to each of the GNU Linux distributions you have installed by opening the PowerShell command-line and entering this command (only available in Windows Build 19041 or higher): wsl -l -v or:

wsl --list --verbose

To set a GNU Linux distribution to be backed by either version of WSL please run:

wsl --set-version <distribution name> <versionNumber>

Make sure to replace <distribution name> with the actual name of your GNU Linux distribution (example: ubuntu) and <versionNumber> with the number (example: 2) You can change back to WSL 1 at anytime by running the same command as above but replacing the ‘2’ with a ‘1’.

Additionally, if you want to make WSL 2 your default architecture you can do so with this command at the PowerShell command-line:

wsl --set-default-version 2

This will set the version of any new GNU Linux distribution installed to WSL 2. (recommended…)

You're Done! −you can quick launch WSL (I'm assuming you installed Ubuntu) with: Windows key + R , ubuntu, OK, −or− you can go through the Start menu.

For Ubuntu 18.04, Installation path:
%ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps\CanonicalGroupLimited.Ubuntu18.04onWindows_1804.2018.427.0_x64__79rhkp1fndgsc

For Ubuntu 18.04, PackageFamily Registry:
CanonicalGroupLimited.Ubuntu18.04onWindows_79rhkp1fndgsc

For Ubuntu 18.04, Registry value:
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths has ubuntu1804.exe