WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80070002 Error: 0x80070002 The system cannot find the file specified.

kartik kunjekar 15 Reputation points
2024-08-09T03:53:58.44+00:00

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> wsl.exe --install -d Ubuntu-20.04

Installing: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS has been installed.

Launching Ubuntu 20.04 LTS...

Installing, this may take a few minutes...

WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80070002

Error: 0x80070002 The system cannot find the file specified.

I tried out everything
wsl --shutdown

turning on/off the virtual environment ,windows subsystem for linux , and all
this all started with docker showing some error. I had ubuntu on my pc and was able to use it but following some solutions to start docker these things happened

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  1. Vasileios Dionysopoulos 646 Reputation points
    2026-10-27T19:02:33.28+00:00

    Hello karkit,

    I ran a quick WSL 2 lab on Windows Server 2025 and successfully installed Ubuntu 22.04.

    One thing worth checking is whether virtualization is actually available to WSL, even if the Windows features are enabled.

    In my case, WSL initially failed to start because nested virtualization was disabled in my Hyper-V VM. Enabling it resolved that issue.

    I'd suggest checking:

    Run wsl --status and wsl --list --verbose.

    Make sure Virtual Machine Platform is enabled.

    If Windows is running inside a VM, verify that nested virtualization is enabled on the host.

    Restart Windows after changing virtualization settings.

    I've attached a screenshot showing my Ubuntu instance running successfully under WSL 2.

    User attachment

    I couldn't reproduce your exact 0x80070002 error, so this may not be the same root cause.

    Could you share the output of wsl --status and wsl --list --verbose? That would help narrow things down without risking your existing Ubuntu data.

    Hope this helps!

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