How to Install the Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 11 – Guide
In Windows 11, Microsoft is simplifying the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL) installation process to just one command to download and install all necessary components, including a virtual machine. In addition, the command also installs the latest Ubuntu distribution by default. If you prefer another Linux distribution, there is an append to command option to select the other distribution installation. With the new quick and easy process, you’ll also find another way to make it easy to update the kernel with just one command. In that guide, you will follow the easy steps to install the WSL platform on your device. Also, we will describe the steps to update the Linux kernel on Windows 11. (Also see the video tutorial about how to use this feature.
How to install Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 11
What to do if it says “The requested operation requires elevation”
If you type “wsl –install” and you see an error message like the one below, it is because you are not running PowerShell or Command Prompt as an administrator and you will need to do this if you want to install WSL. See the first step for instructions on how to run applications as administrator.
How to install different Linux distributions on Windows 11
Ubuntu is the default Linux distribution installed along with the Windows Subsystem for Linux, but it’s not the only “flavor” of Linux compatible with Microsoft’s. feature. There are two ways to install alternative Linux distributions with their own default user interfaces, pre-installed utilities and more features: from the command line and from the Microsoft Store.
Command Line
The command line – i.e. Command Prompt or PowerShell is the most convenient way to install some of the most popular Linux distributions available today. Microsoft doesn’t allow all distributions to be installed this way, probably because there are many that the company supports in-house, but there are several popular distributions available.
Enter the following command:
The “wsl” part of the command indicates that we are using Windows Subsystem for Linux, the “list” is a list of supported Linux distributions, and the “online” specifier indicates the distributions that Microsoft offers instead of the ones we already have running on our PRAÇA. This command should return a list of distributions that can be installed via the command line. This command tells Windows Subsystem for Linux to install one of the distributions listed via the previous command. At the time of writing, this includes everything from Debian, a distribution that prides itself on stability and provides the foundation on which distributions like Ubuntu are built, to Offensive Security’s hacker-favorite Kali Linux.
Microsoft Store
Anyone who isn’t very comfortable with the command line can still install Linux distributions through the Microsoft Store. This requires a bit more manipulation than the command line, mainly because it involves a graphical user interface rather than a text-based system, but it should be a familiar process for anyone who has already installed software via a central distribution platform. .
How to use GUI-based Linux software on Windows 11
WSL originally provided access to Linux command-line interfaces, which was probably fine for experienced users, but was unlikely to make the operating system more accessible to newcomers. (Not that it’s necessarily in Microsoft’s interest to convince people that it’s better for them to use a free, open-source operating system rather than Windows.) That’s changed, and it’s now possible to use Linux graphical user interface (GUI) applications on Windows.
Update WSL using the following command:
This will update Windows Subsystem to Linux so you can use GUI applications through the utility. Please note that Microsoft only offers this feature via WSL 2; the first iteration of the utility is still restricted to non-graphical interfaces that are clearly separate from Windows itself. Install the appropriate driver for your GPU. Microsoft links to GPU driver installation instructions for WSL for Intel, AMD and Nvidia GPUs. Follow these instructions to ensure that your discrete graphics card or the GPU integrated into your CPU is optimized to run graphics-based Linux software alongside Windows itself.
Final note
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