Howto wsl windows
installation
open powershell as administrator and restart the computer when asked:
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all
when computer start open powershell again as administration then execute the following commands:
wsl --update wsl --shutdown
download and install kernel update:
https://wslstorestorage.blob.core.windows.net/wslblob/wsl_update_x64.msi
set wsl version 2 as default:
wsl --set-default-version 2
install hyper-v componets for windows:
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All
to enable hyper-v manager:
Add-WindowsFeature rsat-Hyper-V-tools
commands
list of available wsl distros to install:
wsl --list -o
install specific distro:
wsl --install -d kali-linux
update the wsl kernel:
wsl --update
set windows subsystem for linux 2 your default architecture for new distros:
wsl --set-default-version 2
convert the distro from wsl to wsl 2:
wsl --set-version kali-linux 2
list distro name and version:
wsl -l -v
restart wsl, this will shutdown all distros:
wsl --shutdown
create a backup of the wsl distro:
wsl --export kali-linux kali-linux-backup.tar
restore from backup:
wsl --import kali-linux C:\Users\USERNAME\Distros C:\kali-linux-backup.tar
if you want to uninstall linux distro:
wsl --unregister kali-linux
launch installed the distro:
wsl --distribution kali-linux
terminate or stop a wsl instance:
wsl --terminate kali-linux
to check wsl status:
wsl --status
view the linux files in windows file explorer:
explorer.exe .
set specific distro as default:
wsl -s kali-linux wsl --set-default kali-linux
to change the default user for a distribution:
kali-linux config --default-user username