How to troubleshoot and restart WSL after running wsl –shutdown from Windows

Step 1: Manually Start WSL

First, let’s manually start WSL to ensure it’s running properly before using it with Visual Studio Code.

1. Open PowerShell or Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Start WSL by running:

   wsl

This should start your default WSL distribution. If successful, you’ll see a prompt for your WSL terminal.

Example Output:

   user@your-username:/mnt/c/Users/Your-Username$

If your default distribution is not starting, you can specify a specific distribution, such as Ubuntu:

3. Start a specific distribution (e.g., Ubuntu) by running:

   wsl -d Ubuntu

Example Output:

   user@your-username:/mnt/c/Users/Your-Username$

Step 2: Verify WSL Status

You can check the status of your WSL distributions to ensure they are properly registered and running:

1. Run the following command:

   wsl -l -v

Example Output:

     NAME                   STATE           VERSION
   * Ubuntu                 Running         2
     Debian                 Stopped         2

Here, Ubuntu is running, and Debian is stopped. The * indicates the default distribution.

Step 3: Restart the WSL Service

If WSL isn’t starting correctly, try restarting the WSL service:

1. Open PowerShell or Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Run the following commands to restart the WSL service:

   net stop LxssManager
   net start LxssManager

Example Output:

   The LxssManager service is stopping...
   The LxssManager service was stopped successfully.

   The LxssManager service is starting...
   The LxssManager service was started successfully.

3. After restarting the service, try launching WSL with wsl or wsl -d Ubuntu and see if it starts correctly.

Step 4: Reopen Visual Studio Code

Once you’ve verified that WSL is running, you can reconnect to it through Visual Studio Code:

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Use the Remote - WSL extension to connect to your WSL environment:

• Open the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P).
• Type and select Remote-WSL: Reopen Folder in WSL.
• Choose the appropriate distribution if prompted. Example Output:

   Reopening in WSL: Ubuntu...

This should allow you to use your WSL environment within Visual Studio Code.

Step 5: Reboot Your System (If Necessary)

If you continue to have issues, a system reboot might help:

1. Restart your computer and try the steps again from the beginning.

By following these steps, you should be able to restart WSL and continue working with Visual Studio Code. If you encounter any further issues, feel free to ask for additional help!