Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- other:win10wsl [2022/08/30 16:47] – Moved Uninstalling to a new Advanced usage section jypeter
+++ other:win10wsl [2022/08/31 13:47] – [Creating a backup of a Linux installation] Improved jypeter
@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 [[other:index#windows_10_notes|Other Windows 10 related notes]]
-<note warning>
+<WRAP center round important 60%>
   * What is described on this page was tested with [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/compare-versions#whats-new-in-wsl-2|WSL 2]].\\ **WSL 2** is available in [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-manual#step-2---check-requirements-for-running-wsl-2|Windows 11 or Windows 10, Version 1903, Build 18362 or later]]
   * You can also check JYP's [[other:win10_wsl_1|original WSL 1 instructions]]
+    * ...but even **if you need WSL 1, you should use this page for installing WSL, and then switch to WSL 1** with [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/basic-commands#set-default-wsl-version|--set-default-version]] or [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/basic-commands#set-wsl-version-to-1-or-2|--set-version]]
   * The user can choose to install Linux using **WSL 1 or WSL 2**
     * **WSL 2 should be your default choice**
     * If you have doubts, check the [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/compare-versions|differences between WSL1 and WSL2]] and read [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/compare-versions#exceptions-for-using-wsl-1-rather-than-wsl-2|Exceptions for using WSL 1 rather than WSL 2]] before choosing
-</note>
+</WRAP>
+<WRAP center round tip 60%>
+The commands on this page have to be typed:
+  * either in **Windows PowerShell terminals**
+  * or in **bash terminals running in WSL**
+It should be clear enough which type of terminal you have to use
+</WRAP>
@@ Line 541: / Line 551: @@
 en_US.UTF8
 </code>
 ==== Package management ====
@@ Line 549: / Line 561: @@
   * Install the **synaptic** package manager: ''aptitude install synaptic''
     * [[https://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/synaptic|details]] (fr)
 === Useful commands ===
@@ Line 555: / Line 568: @@
   * ''dpkg -L package_name'': list files installed from ''package_name''
   * ''dpkg -S path/command'': name of the package used to install ''path/command''
 === Example ===
@@ Line 724: / Line 738: @@
  * [[https://linoxide.com/how-to-clear-apt-cache/|How to Clear Apt Cache]]
 ===== Advanced configuration =====
@@ Line 948: / Line 964: @@
   * [[https://github.com/Microsoft/WSL/issues/2636|Automount additonal filesystems from fstab]]
   * [[https://gist.github.com/sgtoj/f82990bcd9e89db49b84e2d2e70b281d|Ubuntu for Windows: Mounting C: Drive to WSL's Root]]
 ==== Rebooting WSL ====
@@ Line 988: / Line 1005: @@
   * <wrap hi>Regular Windows folders</wrap> where you store data used by WSL: you can use ''tar'' in a Linux terminal, as above, or use any usual way of backing up Windows files (drag and drop, some specific [[other:win10apps#backup_software|backup software]])
-  * <wrap hi>The **full** Linux/Ubuntu installation</wrap> running in WSL (based on [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/faq#how-can-i-back-up-my-wsl-distros-or-move-them-from-one-drive-to-another|How can I back up my WSL distros?]]). The following steps will save the full installation in a tar file, that can be used later for restoring the full installation (//restoration// not tested yet)
-    * Open a **Windows terminal** (preferably a //PowerShell// if you need easy copy/paste)\\ The //Windows// terminal is where you will type the ''wsl'' commands shown below
-    * Determine the name of the current Linux installation used in WSL (and see if it is running, and using //WSL 1// or //WSL 2//)
-      * <code>> wsl --list --all
-Distributions du sous-système Windows pour Linux :
-Ubuntu (par défaut)
-> wsl --list --verbose
-  NAME      STATE           VERSION
-* Ubuntu    Running         2</code>
-    * [[other:win10wsl#rebooting_wsl|Stop WSL+Linux]]
-      * <code>> wsl --list --verbose
-  NAME      STATE           VERSION
-* Ubuntu    Running         2
-> wsl --shutdown
-> wsl -l -v
-  NAME      STATE           VERSION
-* Ubuntu    Stopped        21</code>
-    * Export the current Linux to a //tar// file:
-      * FIXME ''wsl --export Ubuntu C:\Scratch\jypeter\WSL\WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.4_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar''
-        * 1.4 Gb
-      * <code> > wsl --export Ubuntu C:\Scratch\<your_login>\<your_login>_ubuntu-<ubuntu_version>-full_<some_date>.tar</code>
-    * You can optionally open a new terminal (this will start again WSL+Ubuntu) to get some information about the created file (size and number of saved files/directories), and compress it in order to save some disk space
-      * <code>$ cd /mnt/c/Scratch/<your_login>
-$ ls -ltrh *ubuntu*tar*
-M Jan 21  2020 <your_login>_200121.tar.gz
-.8G Aug 22  2020 <your_login>-16.04-full_200822.tar
-.4G Feb 24 14:06 <your_login>-20-04-1-full_210224.tar
-# Determine the number of files/directories in the backup
-$ tar tvf <your_login>-20-04-1-full_210224.tar | wc -l
-$ gzip *ubuntu*.tar
-$ ls -ltrh *ubuntu*tar*
-M Jan 21  2020 <your_login>_200121.tar.gz
-.2G Aug 22  2020 <your_login>-16.04-full_200822.tar.gz
-.8G Feb 24 14:06 <your_login>-20-04-1-full_210224.tar.gz
-</code>
 ==== Restoring a WSL backup ====
@@ Line 1052: / Line 1027: @@
 ===== Advanced usage =====
+==== Creating a backup ====
+=== Backup of a Full Linux installation ===
+You can use ''wsl'' to [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/faq#how-can-i-back-up-my-wsl-distributions--or-move-them-from-one-drive-to-another-|save a full Linux installation]] to a //tar// file, that can be:
+  * used later for //restoring// the full installation
+  * used for //relocating// the full installation from ''C:\'' to another disk
+Detailed steps:
+  * Determine the name of the current Linux installation used in WSL (and see if it is running, and using //WSL 1// or //WSL 2//)
+    * <code>> wsl --list --verbose
+  NAME      STATE           VERSION
+* Ubuntu    Running         2</code>
+  * [[other:win10wsl#rebooting_wsl|Stop WSL+Linux]]
+      * <code>> wsl --shutdown
+> wsl -l -v
+  NAME      STATE           VERSION
+* Ubuntu    Stopped         2</code>
+  * Export the specified Linux installation to a //tar// file:
+    * You should export to a directory or external disk where you have //enough// space\\ e.g. The tar file for a [[other:win10wsl#base_installation|newly installed and updated]] __Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS__ is ~1.G Gb
+    * You should use a detailed enough file name for the tar file\\ e.g. WSL_<Linux_Distribution>_<Distribution_Version>_<User>_<Date>.tar
+    * Example: ''wsl --export Ubuntu C:\Scratch\<your_login>\WSL\WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.4_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar''
+    * If you are not going to use the backup tar file right away, you can optionally compress it in order to save some space
+      * <code>Add compression example here</code>
+=== Other types of backup ===
+==== Restoring or relocating a Linux installation ====
+When we have a backup in a tar file, we can restore it to the default location (Check ?? FIXME), or specify where we want to restore it. This is a way of moving (relocating) an installation to another disk or partition than the default location ''C:\''
 ==== Uninstalling WSL ====
 Before starting, you may want to make a backup of whatever you had in your Ubuntu home directory, and all the files and settings that are not in the ''/mnt'' directories
-=== Removing a Linux installation ===
+=== Removing a specific Linux installation ===
-This process is called unregistering
+This process is called //unregistering// (based on [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/basic-commands#unregister-or-uninstall-a-linux-distribution|Unregister or uninstall a Linux distribution]])
 You just need to get the list of the currently installed Linux distributions, stop them and remove/unregister a specific distribution name
@@ Line 1084: / Line 1093: @@
 === Removing WSL ===
-FIXME
+''wsl'' is a part of the Windows system and probably can't be removed.
+Anyway, when all existing Linux distributions are uninstalled, there should not be any big ''.vhdx'' files remaining (i.e. //no extra disk space used//), and there will not be any Linux processes running (i.e. //no extra CPU used//).