How to Install Ubuntu on Windows 10 WSL

In this article, we are going to shows how to Install Ubuntu on Windows 10 WSL. If you are interested to Install Ubuntu on Windows 10 WSL then this post is ideal for you.

Ubuntu is a Linux Operating System based on Debian and mostly composed of non-profit(free) and open-source software. It is a complete Linux operating system that compatible with desktops, laptops, server and other devices. Ubuntu is Open Source so it is freely available for both community and professional support.

if you are a learner and looking for a Linux distribution for Learning then Ubuntu Linux Operating System is best for you as a beginning.

The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) allows you to run a GNU/Linux environment including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications directly on Windows system.

WSL2 is an improvement version of WSL. It comes with features such as file system performance boost, full system call compatibility, Managed VM, built with a new architecture, full Linux Kernel and many more.

Requirements to install WSL 2 on Windows 10:

• Windows 10 May 2020 (2004), Windows 10 May 2019 (1903), or Windows 10 November 2019 (1909) or later
• A computer with Hyper-V Virtualization support

With the help of WSL, you can easily install full Linux operating system in your Windows 10 system. You just need to enable WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) in your Windows 10 system.

How to Install Ubuntu on Windows 10 WSL

Simply follow below steps to install Ubuntu on Windows 10 WSL:

Step 1 : Enable WSL in Windows 10

First of all, you will need to enable WSL in your Windows system. To enable it, simply open PowerShell terminal as administrator.

Click on Start icon -> search for PowerShell -> right-click Windows PowerShell app -> choose to run as administrator.

Next, run the command below in the Windows PowerShell console as show below:

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

The command above will display a successful message similar as below:

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.19041.844

Image Version: 10.0.19042.985

Enabling feature(s)
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

Step 2 : Enable Virtual Machine Platform

Run the commands below from the same PowerShell console to enable the Virtual Machine platform in your Windows system:

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart

If you have Windows 10 version lower than 2004 in your system, use the commands below:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName VirtualMachinePlatform -NoRestart

Next, restart your computer for changes to apply. If you forget to start then the below command doesn’t work.

After restart of your computer, launch the PowerShell as administrator again and run the commands below to set WSL 2 as the default version of WSL:

wsl --set-default-version 2

If you get an error, download and install it manually from the link below:

https://wslstorestorage.blob.core.windows.net/wslblob/wsl_update_x64.msi

Now, run the command above again to set WSL 2 as the default version of WSL:

wsl --set-default-version 2

Step 3 : Install Ubuntu in Windows 10

At this stage, WSL 2 is installed and ready to be used. So now you can easily install Linux operating system in your Windows 10 system.

Click the below button to download and install Ubuntu 20.04 LTS from Microsoft Windows store.

Click on the Get button to Download and Install Ubuntu. After installing Ubuntu, launch it from WSL environment.

After launching, it will install and prompt to create your account as show below :

Installing, this may take a few minutes...
Please create a default UNIX user account. The username does not need to match your Windows username.
For more information visit: https://aka.ms/wslusers
Enter new UNIX username: studiesonline
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: password updated successfully
Installation successful!
To run a command as administrator (user "root"), use "sudo <command>".
See "man sudo_root" for details.

Welcome to Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS (GNU/Linux 4.4.0-19041-Microsoft x86_64)

 * Documentation:  https://help.ubuntu.com
 * Management:     https://landscape.canonical.com
 * Support:        https://ubuntu.com/advantage

Use some troubleshooting commands when you get issues above. Run the below troubleshooting commands and launch Ubuntu again:

wsl --set-default-version 1
bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto start

Step 4 : Launch Ubuntu in Windows 10

To launch Ubuntu in Windows system, simply search it in windows search bar and launch it.

That’s all.

If you face any error and issue in above steps , please use comment box below to report.