wsl2 article added

2026-07-03 23:30:09 +05:30 · 2020-12-31 21:31:17 +05:30
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+**********************************
+Move WSL 2 Safely to another Drive
+**********************************
+
+:date: 2020-12-31 19:07
+:tags: wsl, wsl2
+:category: development
+
+It is real pain when you have small SSD and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is growing exponentially in size. There no easy way to move 
+the WSL installation to another drive. Here in this blog I will discuss how to tackle this problem with bite size steps. 
+
+.. |powershell| image:: /images/powershell.png
+    :scale: 5%
+    :align: middle
+
+.. |command-line| image:: /images/command-line.png
+    :scale: 5%
+    :align: middle
+
+.. |windows10| image:: /images/windows10.png
+    :scale: 5%
+    :align: middle
+    :alt: WinKey
+
+.. role:: html-raw(raw)
+    :format: html
+
+1. Open a PowerShell |powershell| or Command Prompt |command-line| with *Admin* access. For this you can use |windows10| + X shortcut and select **Windows PowerShell(Admin)**.
+2. Check if the WSL 2 installation you are planning to move is is currently running/stopped.
+
+.. code-block:: powershell
+
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal> wsl -l -v
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal>
+      NAME      STATE           VERSION
+    * Ubuntu    Running         2
+      Kali      Stopped         2
+
+3. If its running then you must stop the particular WSL distribution. (*Ubuntu* used as example)
+
+.. code-block:: powershell
+
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal> wsl -t Ubuntu
+
+4. Export to some folder. (Here exporting *Ubuntu* as *ubuntu-ex.tar* to *Z:\wsl2*)
+
+.. code-block:: powershell
+
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal> wsl --export Ubuntu "Z:\export\ubuntu-ex.tar"
+
+5. Unregister previous WSL installation
+
+.. code-block:: powershell
+
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal> wsl --unregister Ubuntu
+
+6. Create a new folder and import your WSL installation to that folder.
+
+.. code-block:: powershell
+
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal> New-Item -Path "Z:\wsl2" -ItemType Directory
+
+        Directory: Z:\
+
+    Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
+    ----                 -------------         ------ ----
+    d-----        31-12-2020     21:03                wsl2
+
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal> wsl --import Ubuntu "Z:\wsl2" "Z:\export\ubuntu-ex.tar"
+
+7. Check after import is complete
+
+.. code-block:: powershell
+
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal> wsl -l -v
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal>
+      NAME      STATE           VERSION
+    * Ubuntu    Running         2
+      Kali      Stopped         2
+
+8. Mark one of your WSL distribution as *(default)*.
+
+.. code-block:: powershell
+
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal> wsl -s Ubuntu
+
+9. After exporting your default user will be set as :html-raw:`<i style="color:red">root</i>` , to change it to your desired username, run following command
+
+.. code-block:: powershell
+
+    PS C:\Users\Avinal> ubuntu config --default-user user_name
+
+10. Finally run :code:`wsl` and you have successfully moved your WSL 2 installation to another drive.