microsoft / microsoft/WSL

Reinstallation deletes home directory without warning

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#5,380 7 comments 9 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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feature
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C++
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Description

Environment

Windows build number: 10.0.19041.0
Your Distribution version: 18.04
Whether the issue is on WSL 2 and/or WSL 1: Linux version 4.4.0-19041-Microsoft (Microsoft@Microsoft.com) (gcc version 5.4.0 (GCC) ) #1-Microsoft Fri Dec 06 14:06:00 PST 2019

Steps to reproduce

  1. Right-click the Ubuntu icon in the start menu, choose uninstall.
  2. Choose OK if you really want to remove it.
  3. Re-install the same distribution from Microsoft Store.
  4. Lanuch again and check your ~ directory for your files.

Unbutu had crashed adn refused to start with the error message

The exception s (0xPress any key to continue...

The only way forward was to re-install the distribution.

Expected behavior

To delete the application should never delete the data in the user directory. That's like deleting Word and having Users\My Documents deleted

Actual behavior

It appers that the file system gets nulled when uninstalling the distribution. Information like this shoud:

A. Be preserved when the application is deleted.
or at the absolute minimum:
B. A warning saying that uninstalling an application will also format the file system.

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 with the listed uninstall and reinstall reproduction steps and confirm whether the distribution filesystem is removed. The issue names no source files, tests, or code entry points, so trace the uninstall behavior from that flow. Done means preserving the home-directory data or presenting a clear warning before deletion.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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