Install & Uninstall Ubuntu on Windows with WSL2

To install Ubuntu on Windows 10 using WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux version 2), follow these steps:

Step-by-Step Guide to Install Ubuntu on Windows 10 with WSL2

1. Enable WSL and Virtual Machine Platform:

   • Open PowerShell as Administrator. You can do this by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”.

   • Run the following commands to enable WSL and the Virtual Machine Platform:

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

2. Set WSL2 as the Default Version:

   • To set WSL2 as the default version, run:

     powershell
     wsl --set-default-version 2
     

3. Restart Your Computer:

   • Restart your computer to apply the changes.

4. Install Ubuntu from Microsoft Store:

   • Open the Microsoft Store app.
   • Search for “Ubuntu” and select your preferred version (e.g., Ubuntu 20.04 LTS).
   • Click on the “Get” button to download and install Ubuntu.

5. Initialize Ubuntu:

   • After installation, open the Ubuntu app from the Start menu.
   • A console window will open, and Ubuntu will initialize. This may take a few moments.
   • You’ll be prompted to create a new UNIX username and password. This username and password are for your Ubuntu environment.

6. Check WSL Version:

   • To ensure that your Ubuntu installation is using WSL2, run the following command in PowerShell:

     powershell
     wsl --list --verbose
     

   • You should see Ubuntu listed with version 2 next to it. If it shows version 1, you can change it to WSL2 by running:

     powershell
     wsl --set-version Ubuntu-20.04 2
     

   (Replace Ubuntu-20.04 with the exact name of your Ubuntu installation if it's different.)

7. Start Using Ubuntu on WSL2:

   • You can now start using Ubuntu by launching it from the Start menu or by typing wsl in PowerShell or Command Prompt.

Additional Tips

• Update and Upgrade Ubuntu: Run sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade in your Ubuntu terminal to keep your packages up to date.
• Access Windows Files: You can access your Windows files from Ubuntu via the /mnt/c directory (for the C: drive).

That's it! You now have Ubuntu running on Windows 10 using WSL2, allowing you to use Linux commands and software directly within Windows.

 

* folder data: C:\Users\{user_name}\AppData\Local\Packages\CanonicalGroupLimited.Ubuntu_..

Thank you