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Restart and Configure WSL2 Default

A restart is required after enabling the features above. The features are not active until the system reboots.

Option A — from PowerShell:

Terminal window
Restart-Computer

Option B — manually: Start menu → PowerRestart

Before continuing: Log back into Windows and wait until the desktop is fully loaded. Do not proceed until the restart is complete.

After the restart, open PowerShell as Administrator again and run:

Terminal window
wsl --set-default-version 2

Expected: For information on key differences with WSL 2 please visit... followed by confirmation, or no error.

Verify immediately:

Terminal window
wsl --status

Expected output includes: Default Version: 2

If prompted to update WSL: Run wsl --update (only when Windows shows the update message), restart if asked, then re-run wsl --set-default-version 2.

If you see a kernel component message: Run wsl --update first. If that does not resolve it, install the fallback package from https://aka.ms/wsl2kernel, then re-run the command above.