Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), one of the main reasons to run Windows 11, is now available in the latest version with all the features for Windows 10 users. With this 1.0 release, WSL has dropped the “preview” label and plans to simplify installation going forward.
In the past, getting the best version of WSL meant installing major Windows updates at the system level (including 11 itself). As part of a broader shift of major apps to the store, Microsoft now offers the most feature-rich version of your WSL out there. Craig Loewen, Program Manager, Windows Developer Platform, said on his blog: Loewen said “demand from the WSL community” has prompted Microsoft to provide Windows 10 users with the latest version of the GUI-enabled framework.
Even when he installs and updates WSL using the command line (PowerShell), it defaults to the store install. Now anyone who can run WSL on their system has access to graphical applications and (optionally) systemd support, thus reducing the time they spend thinking about which version of WSL they are using, what they need, and what differences they might to do.
But even Microsoft is aware that this has led to a variety of versions of WSL. There are two distributions of Linux: WSL 1 and WSL 2. Both a retail version and a Windows version of WSL are available as “optional components” on Windows. The update, according to Loewen, should “simplify version history”. Store install and default distribution version is WSL 2. how to directly integrate Linux with Windows to run it.
After five reboots and some investigation on the support forums, I was finally able to get the store version of WSL running on my Windows 10 desktop. This could be the result of previous system modifications in WSL.
I completed all the system updates that were waiting for me, but the “incompatible version” issues I was experiencing had nothing to do with it. I repeatedly went to the Start menu option “Turn Windows features on or off” to ensure that “Virtual Machine Platform”, “Windows Hypervisor Platform” and “Windows Subsystem for Linux” are all enabled. This option is separate from “Manage optional features???????? Before anything really happened, I checked that my BIOS supported hypervisors (it did), double-checked that WSL 2 was set as my default (it was), and installed Ubuntu from the command line two or three times.
It was extremely impressive to have Linux apps working on Windows after installation (even if they complained a lot about various dependencies and warnings). Now that it’s available in the Microsoft Store, it should be simpler to switch to Linux for those who need a certain utility that Windows doesn’t offer, or who are simply interested in it without wanting to do the partitioning and dual-complete. startup path.