Windows 11 does not read Linux tree

Question

After installing WSL 2 and installing a few Linux VMs, Windows Explorer starts displaying a Linux tree, but whenever I try to access it, I get the following error:

"\wsl.localhost is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions.

Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service"

Though my PC is recent with updated specs:

Motherboard: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ROG STRIX B460-G GAMING

Bios: ver.1101

Processor: Intel i9 10th generation @3.7Ghz

Liquid-cooled by Cool Master

RAM: HyperX 64GB RAM & 2666Mhz

Storage: 1TB SSD, 2TB HDD

GPUs:

Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6

OS: Windows 11 Professional (x64) Version 21H2 (build 22000.282)

But when I try browsing manually to \wsl$\ it works. How can I fix this?

Question also posted here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_11-files/windows-11-does-not-read-linux-tree/59cbc911-7e41-44eb-9d06-cc4a2e344370?messageId=cb42a30f-0293-44e7-9b4e-3be86fabb41a

Answer 1

I had the same issue and found a solution at:
https://issueexplorer.com/issue/microsoft/WSL/7499
https://www.reddit.com/r/bashonubuntuonwindows/comments/og727b/accessing_wsllocalhost_through_windows_11_file/

The solution was to use the Registry Editor (regedit.msc) to edit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\NetworkProvider\Order

and change it to

P9NP,cbfsconnect2017,RDPNP,LanmanWorkstation,webclient,wsauth

(For my computers, it seems that P9NP should be at the beginning, and one needs to remove WinFsp.Np and cbfs6 if present. Not sure whether you need all the other values.)

Make sure that ...\HWOrder is also changed to the same value automatically. Close Registry Editor, and then Linux tree is accessible to me.

The registry value gets changed after restarting the computer or installing some network drives, and I will then have to go to the Registry Editor and change it to get it to work.

Answer 2

I have the same problem everytime I reboot. What works for me is typing \wsl.localhost into file explorer rather than \wsl$.

It first sends me to the network folder just like when you type in \wsl$, but it also starts working for the Linux folder. After I close and reopen file explorer it then only shows up in the Linux folder as expected.

This isn't a perfect fix though, sometimes I have to retype \wsl.localhost even if I haven't restarted my computer, but I prefer this to changing the registry.

I hope this helps!

Answer 3

Sadly, as you say the registry entry is changed back to its original state when network drives are mounted. Is there any way of making this change persistent?

Answer 4

Hi!
If you also have the problem that the settings are reset after a restart, then just follow the instructions provided here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/deployment/network-provider-settings-removed-in-place-upgrade

In a nutshell: Don't use regedit to edit this settings. Use ncpa.cpl instead and set plan 9 to the top of the list.

Answer 5

This issue appears in many blogs but I've not found any that resolve. Some have come close though so my fix comes from a derivative of theirs. In short we require P9NP to be prioritised over cbfsconnect2017. By default P9NP has a decimal value of 500. We need to set this to 250 and thus we therefore need to change cbfsconnect2017 to 500.

This should in most cases fix your issue with accessing the Linux file system by way of the Linux icon. If you don't require this access and are simply happy with accessing as a network share then >Network\wsl$\Ubuntu would cut you a fix but this is well documented.