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--- other:win10wsl [2022/08/30 14:47]
jypeter Moved Uninstalling to a new Advanced usage section
+++ other:win10wsl [2022/09/05 15:45]
jypeter [Other WSL resources and links] Added link to Tips and Tricks
@@ 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 966: / Line 983: @@
-==== Creating a backup of the Linux running in WSL ====
+===== 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 [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/basic-commands#export-a-distribution-to-a-tar-file|--export]] example:
+  * Determine the name of the current Linux installation(s) used in WSL
+    * <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 ~1.4 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_20.04.5_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>$ ls -lh /mnt/c/Scratch/<your_login>/WSL/WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.5_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar
+.4G Aug 29 17:49 /mnt/c/Scratch/<your_login>/WSL/WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.5_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar
+$ gzip  /mnt/c/Scratch/<your_login>/WSL/WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.5_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar
+$ ls -lh /mnt/c/Scratch/<your_login>/WSL/WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.5_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar.gz
+M Aug 29 17:49 /mnt/c/Scratch/<your_login>/WSL/WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.5_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar.gz</code>
+=== Backup of specific directories ===
-There are several types of WSL related directories that you may want to back up:
+You can also just create backups of specific directories:
-  * <wrap hi>Your Linux //home// directory</wrap> (''/home/<your_login>''), or some specific sub-directories of the //Ubuntu// running in WSL (sub-directories of ''/''): all these files are located in a [[other:win10wsl#location_of_the_files|hidden sub-directory of you Windows directory]], and the best way to save them is probably to **create a tar file from Linux**, and put this tar file in a specific Windows //WSL backup folder// (we will use below the directory ''/mnt/c/Scratch/<your_login>'' or ''c:\Scratch\<your_login>'')
+  * Your Linux //home// directory (''/home/<your_login>/''), or some specific sub-directories of the //Ubuntu// running in WSL (sub-directories of ''/''): the best way to save them is probably to **create a //tar// file from Linux**, and put this //tar// file in a specific Windows //WSL backup folder// (we will use below the directory ''/mnt/c/Scratch/<your_login>'' or ''c:\Scratch\<your_login>'')
     * <code bash>$ cd /home
@@ Line 986: / Line 1039: @@
 K Feb 24 12:09 /mnt/c/Scratch/<your_login>/<your_login>_home_210224_1209.tgz</code>
-  * <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]])
+  * Regular Windows folders 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]])
+    * WARNING: there should not be performance issues using ''tar'' (from Linux) to make a backup of Windows files with WSL 1, but **WSL 2 is significantly slower than WSL 1 to access Windows files** ([[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]])
-  * <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
+==== Restoring or relocating a Linux installation ====
-  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
+When we have the tar file of a [[other:win10wsl#creating_a_backup|FULL backup]], we can use [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/basic-commands#import-a-new-distribution|--import]] to install or restore it to a specific location.
-> wsl -l -v
+Note:
-  NAME      STATE           VERSION
+  * This is currently the only way of moving (relocating) a Linux installation to another disk than the default ''C:\'' location
-* Ubuntu    Stopped        21</code>
+  * Importing will mostly put the ''ext4.vhdx'' file in the specified target location!
-    * Export the current Linux to a //tar// file:
+    * You need [[other:win10wsl#disk_usage|enough disk space]] in the new disk location, knowing that the size of the ''vhdx'' file will start growing (as needed) as soon as you use your installation
-      * FIXME ''wsl --export Ubuntu C:\Scratch\jypeter\WSL\WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.4_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar''
+  * This is an indirect way of reclaiming the unused space of a Linux installation, i.e the size of the ''ext4.vhdx'' file after importing can be smaller than the size of the originally exported ''ext4.vhdx'' file.
-        * 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*
+Detailed [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/basic-commands#import-a-new-distribution|--import]] example:
-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
+  * We assume that we have an exported installation tar file available
-$ tar tvf <your_login>-20-04-1-full_210224.tar | wc -l
+    * In this example, we use the compressed backup file created in [[other:win10wsl#backup_of_a_full_linux_installation|Backup of a FULL Linux installation]]\\ ''C:\Scratch\<your_login>\WSL\WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.5_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar.gz''
+  * Create the directory where the Linux installation (mostly its ''ext4.vhdx'' file) will be restored
+    * Hint: use an explicit directory path and name using the name of the distribution that will be restored\\ e.g. ''D:\WSL_Distributions\Ubuntu_custom''
+  * Import the distribution, giving it a name that does not appear in ''wsl -l -v''
+    * <code>> wsl -l -v
+  NAME      STATE           VERSION
+* Ubuntu    Stopped         2
-$ gzip *ubuntu*.tar
+> wsl --import Ubuntu_custom D:\WSL_Distributions\Ubuntu_custom C:\Scratch\<your_login>\WSL\WSL_Ubuntu_20.04.5_LTS_stdu_22-08-29.tar.gz
-$ ls -ltrh *ubuntu*tar*
+> wsl -l -v
-M Jan 21  2020 <your_login>_200121.tar.gz
+  NAME             STATE           VERSION
-.2G Aug 22  2020 <your_login>-16.04-full_200822.tar.gz
+* Ubuntu           Stopped         2
-.8G Feb 24 14:06 <your_login>-20-04-1-full_210224.tar.gz
+  Ubuntu_custom    Stopped         2</code>
-</code>
+    * After importing, there should be a new ''ext4.vhdx'' file in the previously empty ''D:\WSL_Distributions\Ubuntu_custom'' directory
+  * Start the imported ''Ubuntu_custom'' distribution
+    * Directly from the Windows Terminal pull-down menu
+    * Or from a PowerShell, using ''wsl --distribution Ubuntu_custom''
+    * WARNING: even if the distribution we imported had an existing default ''stdu'' user, the //new// default user will be ''root'' !
+      * It is possible to explicitly specify the requested user each time we start a terminal, but it will be more convenient to specify a default user\\ wsl --distribution Ubuntu_custom --user stdu
+  * Specify a default user (note: [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/use-custom-distro#add-wsl-specific-components-like-a-default-user|Add WSL a default user]] also shows how to //create a new user//). We just have to use the root account to add a default user (user ''stdu'' here) to the [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/wsl-config#user-settings|/etc/wsl.conf]] file
+    * <code># cat /etc/wsl.conf
+cat: /etc/wsl.conf: No such file or directory
-==== Restoring a WSL backup ====
+# echo -e "[user]\ndefault=stdu" >> /etc/wsl.conf
+# cat /etc/wsl.conf
+[user]
+default=stdu</code>
+    * Restart the Linux installation to take the new settings into account
+      * ''%%wsl  --terminate Ubuntu_custom%%''
+    * If you need the ''root'' account later, you will need to use the ''sudo'' command from the new default account
+      * <code>$ whoami
+stdu
+stdu@sadira034:~$ sudo su -
+[sudo] password for stdu:
+root@sadira034:~# whoami
+root</code>
 FIXME Read [[https://www.howtogeek.com/426562/how-to-export-and-import-your-linux-systems-on-windows-10/|How to Export and Import Your Linux Systems on Windows 10]] and [[https://winaero.com/blog/export-import-wsl-linux-distro-windows-10/|Export and Import WSL Linux Distro in Windows 10]] and similar threads
@@ Line 1049: / Line 1110: @@
       * if the default user (and its password) has to be changed, you probably have to follow the steps to [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/user-support#for-fall-creators-update-and-later|reset the Linux password]] and find a way to create a new account when the ''root'' password is activated
-===== Advanced usage =====
 ==== Uninstalling WSL ====
@@ Line 1056: / Line 1115: @@
 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 1143: @@
 === 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//).
@@ Line 1137: / Line 1198: @@
   * [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/release-notes|Release Notes for Windows Subsystem for Linux]]
+  * [[https://craigloewen-msft.github.io/WSLTipsAndTricks/|WSL Tips and Tricks]]
   * [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/faq|Frequently Asked Questions]]
   * [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/troubleshooting|Troubleshooting]]

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