Windows WSL & Ubuntu Lab

• Confirm virtualization support and required Windows features for WSL 2.
• Install the latest WSL components and provision Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
• Discover, install, and manage additional Linux distributions.
• Launch Linux shells from Windows Terminal, Start menu, and command line.

• Windows 11 (version 22H2 or later) or Windows 10 (version 21H2 or later).
• Administrator privileges to enable optional Windows features.
• BIOS/UEFI virtualization support enabled (Intel VT-x or AMD-V).
• Internet access to pull WSL components and Linux distributions.

1. Verify virtualization: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager and confirm the Virtualization field on the Performance tab reads Enabled.
2. Enable optional features (PowerShell as Administrator):

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

   Restart the device when prompted so the features complete installation.
3. After reboot, open an elevated Windows Terminal or PowerShell session and run wsl --status to confirm the default version is set to WSL 2. If it reports version 1, run wsl --set-default-version 2.

1. In an elevated terminal, run:

   wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

   The command installs the latest WSL kernel, the WSL manager, and downloads the Ubuntu 24.04 image.
2. When prompted, restart Windows. On first launch, a console window titled Ubuntu 24.04 LTS appears and prompts for a UNIX username and password—record them in your lab notes.
3. Inside Ubuntu, update packages to confirm network access:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

1. List distributions available from Microsoft:

   wsl --list --online

   Capture three options that interest you (for example, Debian, openSUSE-Leap-15.5, Kali-Linux).
2. Install one additional distribution, substituting the exact name returned in the previous step:

   wsl --install -d Debian

3. Set your preferred default distribution (optional):

   wsl --set-default Debian
   wsl --list --verbose

   Note the STATE and VERSION columns for each installed image.

1. Windows Terminal: Open Windows Terminal, select the Ubuntu 24.04 profile from the dropdown, and confirm the shell launches to your Linux home directory.
2. Start menu shortcuts: Search for Ubuntu 24.04 or the distro you installed. Pin it to Start or the taskbar for quick access.
3. Command line launch:

   wsl                  # Launch default distro
   wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04   # Launch Ubuntu 24.04 explicitly
   wsl -d Debian         # Launch Debian

4. Shutdown and maintenance: Use wsl --shutdown to close all instances, wsl --terminate <DistroName> to stop one distro, and wsl --unregister <DistroName> to remove it (irreversible).

wsl --status
wsl --set-default-version 2
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04
wsl --list --online
wsl --set-default Debian
wsl --shutdown

• If wsl --install fails, run wsl --update and retry.
• Hyper-V conflicts? Disable competing hypervisors (VirtualBox legacy drivers, VMware Workstation older than 16.1).
• Networking issues inside Linux? Run wsl --shutdown and reopen the distro to refresh the virtual switch.
• Missing distributions? Open Microsoft Store, search for the distro, and choose Get.