WSL not working from CMD and Powershell

Updated Nov 22, 2023 ·

Problem

When trying to run WSL commands from Powershell, I encountered this error. I tried running it from Command Prompt, but got the same response:

PS C:\Users\Eden.Jose> wsl
Failed to attach disk 'C:\Users\Eden Jose\Desktop\Git\5-Devops_Tools\3-Linux\CentOS8\ext4.vhdx' to WSL2: The system cannot find the path specified.
Error code: Wsl/Service/CreateInstance/MountVhd/HCS/ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND

Cause

I've reformatted my laptop from awhile ago and I've changed the user account name and proceeded with the installation of the old applications. Somehow this broke the WSL since it was still pointing to the directory of the old user account.

Solution

Unmount the Current WSL Instance (if applicable)

PS C:\Users\Eden.Jose> wsl -l -v
  NAME                   STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu                 Running         2 
  CentOS8                Stopped         2
  docker-desktop-data    Stopped         2 

NOTE: THIS COMMAND WILL COMPLETELY UNINSTALL YOUR WSL DISTRO.

wsl --unregister Ubuntu 

Set Up the New WSL Instance with the VHDX File. Make sure to have the VHDX file stored in C Drive.

wsl --import Ubuntu --vhd "C:\WSL\Ubuntu" "C:\WSL\Ubuntu\ext4.vhdx" --version 2

If this still failed, you may need to reinstall the distribution again.