How to uninstall WSL2 on Windows 10
If WSL2 isn’t working correctly or not for you, it’s possible to uninstall it completely from Windows 10 – here’s how.
On Windows 10, you can uninstall the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) when you no longer need to use the platform, and in this guide, you will learn how to complete the task. WSL2 is the second version of Microsoft’s integration to run Linux on Windows 10 using a lightweight virtual machine instead of a direct translation between Linux and Windows available with the first version.
As a result of this change, you now get an actual Linux kernel with a solution that improves performance and app compatibility while maintaining the same experience as the original version of WSL. (See also the video tutorial to complete this task on the Pureinfotech YouTube channel.)
Although the ability to run Linux on Windows 10 is a useful feature for developers and users who need access to both operating systems, it might come the time when you no longer need the platform, or you may need to reset it to fix problems.
Whatever the reason, you can permanently remove WSL2 by uninstalling all the components, or you can reset distros individually if they are causing issues.
This guide will teach you the steps to completely remove the WSL2 integration on Windows 10.
Uninstall WSL2 on Windows 10
The uninstall process of the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 requires multiple steps, including removing the distro, kernel update, and other components.
Step one: Uninstall Linux distros from WSL2
To uninstall a distro of Linux, use these steps:
Open Settings on Windows 10.
Click on Apps.
Click on Apps & features.
Select the distribution of Linux and click the Uninstall button.
Click the Uninstall button again.
Once you complete the steps, you may need to repeat the steps to continue removing additional distros as required.
Step two: Uninstall Windows Subsystem for Linux update
To uninstall the WSL 2 Linux kernel update, use these steps:
Open Settings.
Click on Apps.
Click on Apps & features.
Select the Windows Subsystem for Linux update item and click the Uninstall button.
Click the Uninstall button again.
After you complete the steps, you can remove the remaining components.
Step three: Uninstall WSL2 components
To disable the Windows Subsystem for Linux components, use these steps:
Open Settings.
Click on Apps.
Click on Apps & features.
Under the “Related settings” section, click the Programs and Features option from the right side.
Click the “Turn Windows features on or off” option.
Clear the “Virtual Machine Platform” option.
Clear the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” option.
Click the OK button.
Click the Restart now button.
Once you complete the steps, your computer’s Windows Subsystem for Linux will be completely uninstalled.
If you change your mind, you can always set up the environment again with these instructions. If you run Windows 10 build 20246 and later, you can use the new method to set up WSL2.
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4wk- / README.md
I’ve been using wsl (version 2) with genie mod for years without issue, but one day, Windows 10 finally catch up on wsl Windows 11 features and gives us a way to use systemD natively.
I wanted to use the new «right way» to enable systemD on Windows Subsystem for Linux (without genie ), and I also had a (probably related) infinite Windows RemoteApp error poping in.
A — Uninstall wsl and related stuff
- In powershell (as admin)
- In Settings > Apps > Apps & Features
- search for Ubuntu (then Debian , etc), and if something is found, click on uninstall
- search for Linux , and if something is found, click on uninstall on all results
- In Start Menu > Turn Windows Features on or off
- Untick Virtual Machine Platform checkbox
- Untick Windows Subsystem for Linux checkbox
- Reboot
- I might have reboot between step 2) and 3) as well.
B — Re-install and configure wsl to use systemD
The process of installing wsl have become super straightforward.
- Installing wsl — In powershell (as admin)
Then reboot and wait for the Ubundu installation to complete and ask for username (it might takes some time).
- Optional: Changing distribution — In powershell (as admin)
NB: wsl —set-default-version 2 is not needed anymore.
- Enabling systemD support — Inside wsl
- Launch your distribution
- Edit /etc/wsl.conf (or create the file if it doesn’t exist)
- Clean rebooting — In powershell (as admin)
Great success! �� You have now enabled systemD in wsl natively. You can test it with sudo systemctl status time-sync.target (inside your Linux distribution).
Let me know if I missed anything, I’ll be glad to update this gist.
If you follow precisely the steps it fails to install wsl again on B.1 , I had to re-enable these feature:
@ricardoalcantara Are you sure you were on an elevated Powershell? AFAIK, the wsl —install command enable both of them on its own.
I will test it again soon-ish.
I was sure, if it’s not elevated it will tell that it needs elevation before the execution. So I enabled WSL only with Turn Windows Feature on or off and I achieve to install Ubuntu but I didn’t run with error «WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80370114», then I enabled Virtual Machine Platform and restarted. Only after that I had my WSL running back again =D. But I maybe some local issue or M$ bug I might have faced. After I disable I had a Blue Screen of Death but Green because I am an «insider», maybe it could had left some dirty. who knows. Thanks anyway, your gist is awesome!
How to Uninstall WSL on Windows 11 & Windows 10? See a Guide! [MiniTool Tips]
If you need to uninstall Windows Subsystem for Linux, you can do this task on Windows 10/11. It is not simple as program uninstallation. Refer to this post from MiniTool and find the guide on how to uninstall WSL easily.
About WSL
Windows Subsystem for Linux, also known as WSL, is a feature in Windows operating system that is primarily designed for developers, especially web developers. WSL enables you to run a Linux system with Linux command-line tools and GUI apps on Windows 11/10. This won’t break anything important on your PC.
In the earlier time, Microsoft released the first version — Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) that supports a direct translation between Linux and Windows. While WSL2 uses a lightweight virtual machine to integrate it into your Windows workflow. Any Linux distribution can run on either the WSL 1 or WSL 2 architecture, which depends on their configuration.
To run a Linux system on Windows 10/11, you need to install WSL and here a related post is helpful — How to Install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on Windows 11.
When anything goes wrong or you no longer need to use this platform, you may want to uninstall WSL. Well then, can you uninstall WSL from your computer? It is possible and just follow the guide below now.
How to Uninstall WSL on Windows 10/11
How to uninstall WSL on Windows 11/10? It is not easy to completely remove WSL from your PC since this isn’t similar to uninstalling a program. You need to do three steps – delete the Linux distro, uninstall other components and disable this platform. Do the operations about WSL uninstall Ubuntu in order:
Step 1: Uninstall Linux Distro
1. In Windows 11/10, press Win + I at the same time to open Settings.
Is the Settings app not opening in Windows 10/11? What to do if you can’t access Settings? This post gives you some solutions to fix this issue.
2. Go to Apps > Apps & features.
3. Choose a Linux distribution like Ubuntu and click Uninstall (Windows 10). For Windows 11, click the three dots and click Uninstall. Then, click Uninstall again to confirm the operation.
You can type the Linux distribution like Ubuntu into the text of App list to find your installation.
Step 2: Delete Windows Subsystem for Linux Components
After uninstalling the Linux distribution from Windows 11/10, other elements of the Windows Subsystem for Linux functionality should be also removed.
1. In the Settings window, go to App > Apps & features.
2. Choose Windows Subsystem for Linux WSLg Preview and click Uninstall > Uninstall. In Windows 11, you need to click three dots and click Uninstall.
3. Find Windows Subsystem for Linux Update and uninstall it.
Step 3: Disable Windows Subsystem for Linux
This is the last step you should do and see what you should do:
1. In Windows 11, click Apps > Optional features and click More Windows features under the Related settings section to open the Windows Features In Windows 10, navigate to Apps > Apps & features > Option features > More Windows features.
Alternatively, you can type windows features into the search box and click Turn Windows features on or off.
2. In the Windows Features interface, locate Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Subsystem for Linux, then uncheck the boxes of these two options.
3. Click OK to save the changes and restart your computer.
After the restart, you completely uninstall WSL on Windows 11/10. If you change your mind and want to run a Linux distribution like Ubuntu, you can still reinstall WSL on your computer.
About The Author
Vera is an editor of the MiniTool Team since 2016 who has more than 5 years’ writing experiences in the field of technical articles. Her articles mainly focus on disk & partition management, PC data recovery, video conversion, as well as PC backup & restore, helping users to solve some errors and issues when using their computers. In her spare times, she likes shopping, playing games and reading some articles.
How to remove/reset Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows Insider Build 14316
I installed the Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10 Insider Preview build 14316. Now I would like to remove it or, better, revert to its factory defaults i.e. as it was when just installed.
I tried, to remove it from the «Turn Windows features on or off» windows, with no luck. I tried, to mark it as «off» in the above windows and delete its files manually located in %USERPROFILE%/AppData/Local/lxss , with no luck.
Has anyone succeeded in removing/resetting the Ubuntu user-mode environment?
2 Answers 2
The following answer only applies to WSL on Windows 10 1703 and 1607. WSL on Windows 10 1709+ can be installed from within the Windows Store UWP application.
If you want to remove and reset the Linux subsystem, open a command prompt with elevated permissions and enter the following commands:
I was having problems with installing BASH, it would always hang at «Expanding Filesystem. «. When I ran
it would error out.
To fix this, I did a reboot. Ran this again as soon as the computer came back up. This worked. Then I found there is an issue related to installing the BASH prompt.
And someone brought up about pagefiles. I have four drives and three of them had pagefiles. I set the pagefile to one drive and set it to be automatically managed. Rebooted the computer. Then I was able to install the BASH prompt for Windows, but instead of using lxrun /install I used