Setup Windows Subsystem Linux(WSL) in your windows laptop

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) allows you to run a full Linux environment directly on Windows, without needing a separate virtual machine or dual-booting. It is primarily used by developers to run Linux command-line tools, Bash scripts, and Linux-specific applications seamlessly within a Windows workflow.

To begin with, download Ubuntu Pro for WSL from Microsoft Store.

Next, open your windows powershell. Type wsl below.

Professional WSL Troubleshooting Walkthrough

This section demonstrates what to do when typing wsl from PowerShell fails, which files and directories to inspect, the common WSL commands every developer should know, and how to exit WSL safely back to Windows PowerShell.

1. When Typing wsl Fails: PowerShell Commands and Expected Outputs

Suppose you open PowerShell and run:

wsl

Instead of entering Ubuntu, you may see errors such as:

wsl: Processing /etc/fstab with mount -a failed.
wsl: Failed to mount C:\, see dmesg for more details.
wsl: Failed to mount D:\, see dmesg for more details.
wsl: Failed to translate 'C:\Users\anirban'
wsl: Failed to translate 'C:\Windows\system32'
<3>WSL ERROR: getpwuid(0) failed 2
<3>WSL ERROR: execvpe(/bin/sh) failed: No such file or directory

This output suggests WSL is having startup issues. The failure could be caused by the wrong default distro, broken Windows drive mounts, bad /etc/fstab entries, or a missing Linux shell such as /bin/sh.

The first step is not to reinstall WSL. The first step is to inspect the installed distributions.

Step 1: List Installed WSL Distributions

Run this in PowerShell:

wsl -l -v

Expected output:

NAME              STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu            Stopped         2
  Ubuntu-24.04      Stopped         2

Meaning:

ColumnMeaningNAMEWSL distribution nameSTATEWhether the distro is running or stoppedVERSIONWSL version, usually 1 or 2*The default distro launched when you type only wsl

If the broken distro has the * beside it, plain wsl will keep launching the broken distro.

Step 2: Launch the Correct Distro Explicitly

If your working distro is Ubuntu-24.04, run:

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04

Expected successful output:

(base) anirban@LAPTOP-F3H8724S:/mnt/c/Users/anirban$

This means you are now inside WSL.

Explanation of the prompt:

Prompt PartMeaning(base)Conda base environment is activeanirbanLinux usernameLAPTOP-F3H8724SHost machine name/mnt/c/Users/anirbanCurrent directory inside mounted Windows C drive$Normal non-root Linux shell

If this works, then the problem may simply be that the wrong WSL distro is set as default.

Step 3: Set the Correct Default Distro

Back in PowerShell, run:

wsl --set-default Ubuntu-24.04

Expected output:

The operation completed successfully.

Then shut down all WSL instances:

wsl --shutdown

This command usually returns no output if successful.

Now test again:

wsl

Expected output:

(base) anirban@LAPTOP-F3H8724S:/mnt/c/Users/anirban$

At this point, typing only wsl should open Ubuntu-24.04.

Step 4: If Normal Startup Still Fails, Enter as Root

If this command fails:

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04

try entering as root with Bash:

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04 -u root --exec /bin/bash

Expected output:

root@LAPTOP-F3H8724S:/#

This means you entered the Linux environment as the root user.

If /bin/bash works, but normal startup fails, the issue may be with the default user, /bin/sh, /etc/passwd, /etc/fstab, or /etc/wsl.conf.

Step 5: Test Whether Basic Linux Binaries Exist

From PowerShell, you can directly execute Linux commands without opening an interactive shell.

Check the root filesystem:

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04 -u root --exec /bin/ls /

Expected output:

bin  boot  dev  etc  home  lib  lib64  media  mnt  opt  proc  root  run  sbin  tmp  usr  var

Check whether Bash exists:

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04 -u root --exec /bin/ls -l /bin/bash

Expected output:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1396520 Mar 31  2024 /bin/bash

Check whether /bin/sh exists:

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04 -u root --exec /bin/ls -l /bin/sh

Expected healthy output:

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 4 Mar 31  2024 /bin/sh -> dash

or:

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 4 Mar 31  2024 /bin/sh -> bash

Problem output:

/bin/ls: cannot access '/bin/sh': No such file or directory

If /bin/sh is missing but /bin/bash exists, you can repair it from inside WSL root mode:

ln -sf /bin/bash /bin/sh

Then restart WSL:

wsl --shutdown
wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04

2. Significant WSL Directories and Files to Check

When WSL fails to start, the following directories and files are important.

/etc/fstab

Command:

cat /etc/fstab

Purpose:

/etc/fstab controls filesystems mounted automatically at startup.

What to look out for:

C:\ /mnt/c drvfs defaults 0 0
D:\ /mnt/d drvfs defaults 0 0

In WSL, Windows drives are usually mounted automatically. Bad or unnecessary manual mount entries can cause startup errors.

If you see suspicious mount lines, edit the file:

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Comment out suspicious entries:

# C:\ /mnt/c drvfs defaults 0 0
# D:\ /mnt/d drvfs defaults 0 0

Then restart WSL:

wsl --shutdown
wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04

/etc/wsl.conf

Command:

cat /etc/wsl.conf

Purpose:

/etc/wsl.conf controls WSL-specific behavior such as default user, automounting, interop, and whether Windows PATH is appended.

Example healthy file:

[automount]
enabled = true
root = /mnt/

[interop]
enabled = true
appendWindowsPath = false

[user]
default = anirban

What to look out for:

If the default user is wrong, fix it:

sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf

Example:

[user]
default = anirban

Then restart WSL:

wsl --shutdown
wsl

/bin/sh

Command:

ls -l /bin/sh

Expected output:

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 4 Mar 31  2024 /bin/sh -> dash

Purpose:

/bin/sh is the default POSIX shell used by many Linux scripts and startup processes.

Problem:

ls: cannot access '/bin/sh': No such file or directory

Fix if Bash exists:

sudo ln -sf /bin/bash /bin/sh

Better Ubuntu-style fix if dash exists:

sudo ln -sf /bin/dash /bin/sh

Check dash:

ls -l /bin/dash

Expected output:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 125688 Mar 31  2024 /bin/dash

/bin/bash

Command:

ls -l /bin/bash

Purpose:

Bash is the common interactive shell used in Ubuntu.

Expected output:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1396520 Mar 31  2024 /bin/bash

If /bin/bash is missing, the distro is seriously damaged. You should back up before attempting major repair.

/etc/passwd

Command:

cat /etc/passwd | head

Purpose:

/etc/passwd contains Linux user account records.

Expected output should include:

root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash

And for your user:

anirban:x:1000:1000:,,,:/home/anirban:/bin/bash

What to look out for:

/home/anirban

Command:

ls -ld /home/anirban

Expected output:

drwxr-x--- 20 anirban anirban 4096 Jun 1 20:00 /home/anirban

Purpose:

This is the Linux home directory. It is the recommended place to keep projects.

Good project structure:

cd ~
mkdir -p projects
cd projects

Recommended path:

/home/anirban/projects

Avoid doing heavy development inside:

/mnt/c/Users/anirban

because Windows-mounted paths are often slower and can create permission issues for Linux tools.

/mnt/c

Command:

ls /mnt/c

Expected output:

$Recycle.Bin  Program Files  Program Files (x86)  Users  Windows

Purpose:

/mnt/c is the mounted Windows C drive.

If this fails:

ls: cannot access '/mnt/c': No such file or directory

or:

Input/output error

then Windows drive mounting is broken.

Check WSL automount configuration:

cat /etc/wsl.conf

Look for:

[automount]
enabled = true
root = /mnt/

Then restart:

wsl --shutdown
wsl

/var/log

Command:

ls /var/log

Purpose:

Contains Linux logs. In WSL, not all traditional Linux logs behave exactly like a full server, but this directory can still contain useful diagnostic information.

Useful commands:

dmesg | tail -50

journalctl -xe

journalctl works only if systemd is enabled.

3. Common WSL Commands

These commands are useful from PowerShell.

List Installed Distros

wsl -l -v

Example output:

NAME              STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu-24.04      Running         2

Start Default WSL Distro

wsl

Start a Specific Distro

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04

Start a Specific Distro as Root

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04 -u root

Run a Linux Command Directly from PowerShell

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04 --exec uname -a

Example output:

Linux LAPTOP-F3H8724S 5.15.167.4-microsoft-standard-WSL2 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Check Current WSL Status

wsl --status

Example output:

Default Distribution: Ubuntu-24.04
Default Version: 2

Set Default WSL Distro

wsl --set-default Ubuntu-24.04

Set Default WSL Version

wsl --set-default-version 2

Expected output:

The operation completed successfully.

Shut Down All WSL Distros

wsl --shutdown

This stops all running WSL distributions.

Useful after changing:

• /etc/wsl.conf
• Windows PATH behavior
• Automount settings
• Default user
• Docker/WSL integration
• WSL memory settings

Terminate One Specific Distro

wsl --terminate Ubuntu-24.04

This stops only the selected distro.

Export a WSL Backup

mkdir C:\wsl-backup
wsl --export Ubuntu-24.04 C:\wsl-backup\Ubuntu-24.04-backup.tar

Use this before risky repairs.

Import a WSL Backup

wsl --import Ubuntu-24.04-Restored C:\WSL\Ubuntu-24.04-Restored C:\wsl-backup\Ubuntu-24.04-backup.tar --version 2

This creates a restored copy under a new distro name.

Unregister a Distro

wsl --unregister Ubuntu-24.04

Warning: this deletes the distro.

Only use this after backing up important files.

Update WSL

wsl --update

Check WSL Help

wsl --help

4. Useful Commands Inside WSL

Once inside Ubuntu, these commands are useful.

Check Current Directory

pwd

Example output:

/home/anirban

List Files

ls

Detailed listing:

ls -lah

Go to Linux Home Directory

cd ~

Go to Windows C Drive

cd /mnt/c

Go to Windows User Folder

cd /mnt/c/Users/anirban

Create a Project Folder

cd ~
mkdir -p projects
cd projects

Check Ubuntu Version

lsb_release -a

Example output:

Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Release:        24.04
Codename:       noble

Check Linux Kernel

uname -a

Check Current User

whoami

Expected output:

anirban

Check Shell

echo $SHELL

Expected output:

/bin/bash

Check Conda Environment

conda info --envs

Example output:

# conda environments:
#
base                  *  /home/anirban/anaconda3
pyakc                    /home/anirban/anaconda3/envs/pyakc

Check Python

which python
python --version

Example output:

/home/anirban/anaconda3/bin/python
Python 3.13.x

Check Windows Mount

ls /mnt/c

Expected output:

Program Files  Program Files (x86)  Users  Windows

5. Logging Out from WSL and Returning to Windows Mode

When you are inside WSL, the prompt may look like this:

(base) anirban@LAPTOP-F3H8724S:/mnt/c/Users/anirban$

To exit WSL and return to Windows PowerShell, type:

exit

Expected result:

PS C:\Users\anirban>

You are now back in Windows PowerShell.

Alternative: Press Ctrl + D

Inside WSL, you can also press:

Ctrl + D

This sends an end-of-file signal and closes the shell session.

Expected result:

PS C:\Users\anirban>

Difference Between exit, wsl --terminate, and wsl --shutdown

Use exit for normal logout.

Use wsl --shutdown after changing WSL configuration files such as:

/etc/wsl.conf 
/etc/fstab

6. Practical End-to-End Recovery Flow

Here is a clean professional workflow.

First, in PowerShell:

wsl

If it fails, inspect distros:

wsl -l -v

If Ubuntu-24.04 is the correct distro, launch it directly:

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04

If successful, set it as default:

wsl --set-default Ubuntu-24.04
wsl --shutdown
wsl

If it still fails, enter as root:

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04 -u root --exec /bin/bash

Then inspect important files:

ls -l /bin/sh
ls -l /bin/bash
cat /etc/fstab
cat /etc/wsl.conf
cat /etc/passwd | head
ls /mnt/c

If /bin/sh is missing but Bash exists:

ln -sf /bin/bash /bin/sh

If /etc/fstab has suspicious mount entries:

nano /etc/fstab

Comment them out:

# C:\ /mnt/c drvfs defaults 0 0
# D:\ /mnt/d drvfs defaults 0 0

Then restart from PowerShell:

wsl --shutdown
wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04

Before any destructive action, export a backup:

mkdir C:\wsl-backup
wsl --export Ubuntu-24.04 C:\wsl-backup\Ubuntu-24.04-backup.tar

Only after backup should you consider unregistering or reinstalling a distro.

7. Key Takeaways

When wsl fails, do not immediately reinstall Ubuntu.

First check:

wsl -l -v

Then try:

wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04

The failure may simply be caused by the wrong default distro.

The most important Linux files to inspect are:

/etc/fstab
/etc/wsl.conf
/etc/passwd
/bin/sh
/bin/bash

The most important Windows-side commands are:

wsl -l -v
wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04
wsl --set-default Ubuntu-24.04
wsl --shutdown
wsl --export

To leave WSL and return to Windows PowerShell:

exit

A calm, structured debugging approach is better than panic reinstalling. WSL errors often look intimidating, but the root cause is usually discoverable from the first few lines of the error message.