microsoft / microsoft/WSL

Installing any distro fails with "WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80070002 Error: 0x80070002 The system cannot find the file specified."

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failure-to-launch
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Description

Hi,

After installing Windows 10 on my desktop, I installed the Debian distribution. Right after installation, it loaded and worked fine, however after closing the shell and re-opening it, it got stuck while loading and my CPU usage increased to 100% - in the services I could see around 8 processed called "init" that were running and using up all cpu resources.
I wasn't able to kill the processes, only a reboot helped. As the processes came back every time I opened the Debian shell, I eventually deinstalled the disto.
Now, when I try to install any distro, I always end up with the same error:

Installing, this may take a few minutes...
WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80070002
Error: 0x80070002 The system cannot find the file specified.

Press any key to continue...

I tried all possible combinations of deinstalling, reboot, etc.
wsllist never shows any of the Distros, even if they show up in the installed programs.

wsl --list --all
Windows Subsystem for Linux has no installed distributions.
Distributions can be installed by visiting the Microsoft Store:
https://aka.ms/wslstore

Attached you can find my logs - I was collecting them while I tried to install the Ubuntu distribution.

logs.zip

Windows version: Win 10 Pro, Version 1909 Build 18363.657.

Please let me know if you require anything else!

Thank you,
Kerstin

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reviewing logs.zip and the reported Windows 10 version, then reproduce the failure using the listed installation steps and wsl --list --all. Compare the registration failure with the earlier Debian startup and init processes. Done means identifying a reproducible cause and documenting or implementing a verified fix for distro registration.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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