Windows Server 2022 / WSL2 Problems

Question

Yesterday I installed WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) on our Windows Server 2022 as a test server. The installation itself went smoothly. After the installation I had to restart the test server. When the WSL (version 2) was called up again, I was asked for a user name and password. Windows Subsystem for Linux seems to work. Only when I restart the server completely, I get an error message in the Server Manager: A service could not be started. More precisely:

XXXXXXXX ms-resource:AppName WslInstaller Finished Automatic

This error relates to the WSLInstaller.exe. Under Services, this service is set to Automatic and cannot be changed. This service cannot be started manually either. Are you aware of this problem and how can it be resolved?

The server has the following data:

Device name XXXXXXXX

Processor Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v3 @ 2.40GHz 2.40 GHz (2 processors)

Installed RAM 128 GB (128 GB usable)

Geräte-ID 521960C6-E6D9-4A55-A04E-D574787583AE

Produkt-ID 00454-40000-00001-AA708

System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Pen and touch input No pen or touch input is available for this display

Edition Windows Server 2022 Standard Evaluation

Version 21H2

Installed on 12.01.2024

Operating system build 20348.2322

Greetings

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Answer 1

1. Ensure that your Windows Server patches are up to date with the latest updates.

 

2. Verify that the version of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) you installed is compatible with Windows Server 2022.

 

3. Ensure that you are running commands related to WSL or WSLInstaller with appropriate administrative privileges.

 

4. Verify that there are no Group Policy settings affecting WSL. Group Policies can sometimes restrict the functionality of certain services.

 

5. Check if any antivirus or security software is interfering with WSL.

 

6. If the issue persists, you might consider reinstalling WSL. Uninstall the current WSL version, restart the server, and then install it again.

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

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Answer 2

Hello Ian Xue,

Thank you for your message. The Windows Server 2022 evaluation was freshly set up. The updates have all been installed where possible. Automatic updates are activated. The only exception: Security update KB5034439 could not be installed. Microsoft is aware of the problem. The update relates to the recovery partition and this is too small to be able to load this update. This recovery partition cannot be easily enlarged afterwards. Otherwise, the server is up to date. As far as I can tell.

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) was installed from the console (CMD with administrator rights) as described (via WSL --install). I must assume that it is compatible. Because this subsystem was installed automatically from the console. When you write that I should run the WSL with administrative rights, you should also describe in more detail. As described above, the installation starts from the console with administrator rights. If there is anything else that needs to be set, I am not yet aware of it. The version of the subsystem is 2.

After the installation I was able to update or upgrade with the command "sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade".

Initially, no programs were running in this subsystem. The service error appeared immediately after installing the WSL.

There are also no group policies related to and/or with the subsystem. I have not created any GPOs in that direction. After installing the WSL, I installed Squid-Cache as a test. This proxy server runs as desired. The error behavior of the service does not change.

Yes, an anti-virus program and an external firewall are or were installed on the server. I have uninstalled these programs on a trial basis. The error pattern does not change here either.

My impression is that this WSLInstall tries to install the subsystem every time the server is restarted. However, it then realizes that it is already installed and aborts the execution of the service. This results in the aforementioned error message.

I could still do your suggestion to reinstall the WSL. In the near future. I have a lot on my plate at the moment. But I don't really believe that it will help here.

Best regards

Yvon Groß