Hi folks
Been experimenting with DEBIAN 11 (from the Ms store) with full GNOME (and some kde apps) with WSL -- IMO it;s faster than the equiv VM under HYPER-V (which itself is OK)
Been running on latest version of W11 (instructions based on W10 so I think it would work on W10 too)
Here's the link
WSL GUI vs VM in HYPER-V | Windows 11 Forum
Have fun - anybody doing this :
cheers
jimbo
I do want to point this out to all users who want to do this:
Make sure that you have a decent amount of storage space on your C: drive. I used Linux with GUI and WSL, and I will tell you that after I downloaded the user interface files it really took a chunk out of my 256GB M.2. Just be mindful of your storage!
Last edited by RevenantOrigin; 21 Dec 2021 at 21:48. Reason: I misspelled a word...
Hi there @RevenantOrigin
It's easy to move the WSL to another drive -- even an external one if so minded.
Start Powershell in admin mode
1) Terminate the running distro (if running) via wsl -t <distro>
2) Export it to a device via wsl --export <distro> <"Disk:\directory\filename.tar>
3) unregister it -- this frees up disk space too
wsl --unregister <distro>
4) create a new folder on the target disk and import the wsl back into the system
wsl--import <distro> "<target path and directory"> <"exported filename.tar">
5) start it up again wsl -d <distro>
This will start as in root -- depending on the distro re-configure default user or instead simply start the distro instead with wsl -d <distro) -u <username>
Note that even with the full desktop GUI you can create short cuts on the Windows desktop if you just want to run individual Linux programs from Windows without starting the wsl each time. Just browse to the Linux folder and from the specific program in file explorer just --->create short cut and send to desktop (or pin to taskbar or whatever).
Note this current restriction with the WSL 2 system -- for some could be a showstopper. You can attach USB drives simply and easily so one might think -- this could be used as a Server However :
You can't use the WSL system as any sort of server since outside of its Host Windows shell it's unreachable from "Outside" -- if you try and use VLC / Kodi etc from a remote device such as a remote TV for media streaming you can of course connect to the windows shared disks but the WSL distro will just be seen as a vhdx file.
You can logon to windows from a remote device via RDP in which case you are effectively logged on to the host system and have access to the Linux Wsl. (the wsl itself CAN access outside resources such as the Internet and networked drives.etc)
RDP to Windows host running WSL from remote (on LAN) Linux machine with a Linux external USB disk attached
However its great for testing on real hardware and with pretty solid VM isolation the above restriction might not be a problem for a lot of potential users. The main thing is the system is really fast and easy to delete, re-do etc etc.
Cheers
jimbo
Last edited by jimbo45; 22 Dec 2021 at 04:49. Reason: Added screenshot of RDP from remote Linux server
Thank you for the advice and information. I am still learning how to use WSL2 so this advice will help me later on, especially when they add Fedora to the Windows Store.Hi there @RevenantOrigin
It's easy to move the WSL to another drive -- even an external one if so minded.
Start Powershell in admin mode
1) Terminate the running distro (if running) via wsl -t <distro>
2) Export it to a device via wsl --export <distro> <"Disk:\directory\filename.tar>
3) unregister it -- this frees up disk space too
wsl --unregister <distro>
4) create a new folder on the target disk and import the wsl back into the system
wsl--import <distro> "<target path and directory"> <"exported filename.tar">
5) start it up again wsl -d <distro>
This will start as in root -- depending on the distro re-configure default user or instead simply start the distro instead with wsl -d <distro) -u <username>
Note that even with the full desktop GUI you can create short cuts on the Windows desktop if you just want to run individual Linux programs from Windows without starting the wsl each time. Just browse to the Linux folder and from the specific program in file explorer just --->create short cut and send to desktop (or pin to taskbar or whatever).
Note this current restriction with the WSL 2 system -- for some could be a showstopper. You can attach USB drives simply and easily so one might think -- this could be used as a Server However :
You can't use the WSL system as any sort of server since outside of its Host Windows shell it's unreachable from "Outside" -- if you try and use VLC / Kodi etc from a remote device such as a remote TV for media streaming you can of course connect to the windows shared disks but the WSL distro will just be seen as a vhdx file.
You can logon to windows from a remote device via RDP in which case you are effectively logged on to the host system and have access to the Linux Wsl. (the wsl itself CAN access outside resources such as the Internet and networked drives.etc)
RDP to Windows host running WSL from remote (on LAN) Linux machine with a Linux external USB disk attached
However its great for testing on real hardware and with pretty solid VM isolation the above restriction might not be a problem for a lot of potential users. The main thing is the system is really fast and easy to delete, re-do etc etc.
Cheers
jimbo
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