Incorrect version message installing WSL

[mausch]

Version

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.2251]

WSL Version

• WSL 2
• WSL 1

Kernel Version

N/A

Distro Version

N/A

Other Software

No response

Repro Steps

Got excited about WSL now including WSLg on Windows 10 so I wanted to give it a try.

wsl --update says:

Checking for updates...
No updates are available.
Kernel version: 5.10.102.1

so I thought I'd get it from the Windows Store as recommended.

1. I get WSL from Windows Store
2. I click "Open" on Windows Store
   
3. I get this error
   
4. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install was updated yesterday and it says "You must be running Windows 10 version 2004 and higher (Build 19041 and higher)". I'm running build 19045 but it doesn't work?

Expected Behavior

WSL working

Actual Behavior

WSL not working

Diagnostic Logs

No response

[Biswa96]

Please make sure your system satisfies the conditions

You will need to be running Windows 10 version 21H1, 21H2, or 22H2, or on Windows 11 21H2 with all of the November updates applied. You will know you have this update when you check that KB5020030 is installed on Windows 10, or KB5019157 on Windows 11.

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/the-windows-subsystem-for-linux-in-the-microsoft-store-is-now-generally-available-on-windows-10-and-11/

[mausch]

Thanks for the quick reply. So you're saying my version 10.0.19045.2251 is not "Build 19041 and higher"?
Windows Updates shows me no pending updates.

[Biswa96]

That "Build 19041 and higher" condition is probably for system's own WSL. I am not sure about the requirement for that specific KB update. Maybe keep smashing the 'check for update' button in Settings :)

[mausch]

I just got some "optional" update, now my version is 10.0.19045.2311 and WSL works fine.
Seems to me the error message is incorrect? I've edited the title of this issue accordingly.

[TBBle]

The message is correct, but it looks like https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install hasn't been updated for the requirements for the Store-distributed version. As mentioned in the blog post and comment above to use the Store version you need the November 2022 "C" releases, i.e. 1904X.2311 aka KB5020030 for Windows 10, or later. The same functionality should be included in the December "B" release (non-optional) assuming no issues are found during its preview period.

Due to the way Windows 10 is versioned (specifically, the feature-pack releases), 10.0.19045.2251 is indeed older than 10.0.19041.2311.

Edit: On reflection, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install is also correct, as it suggests wsl --install, which will still work fine on older Windows 10 releases, it just won't use the Store version. After upgrading to a new-enough Windows 10/Windows 11, the next wsl --upgrade should install the Store version transparently. So nothing needs changing there.

Perhaps the Store-based installation could give more information in its failure report, e.g., "Go to Windows Update and install this KB" (or even a hyperlink to take you there), but the state of "depends on a in-preview system update" will probably only remain the case for a couple of weeks.

[mausch]

Hi, thanks for the explanation!

10.0.19045.2251 is indeed older than 10.0.19041.2311.

😖
Well, the scope of the issue now has grown to "Windows versioning makes no sense" so I'll close this 🙂

I've probably bumped into issues related to that before, but I don't use this so often that it stick around in my head. Maybe something to address in Windows 12! 😄