Guide: How to Mount and Unmount WSL Drives from Windows

This guide will walk you through mounting and unmounting drives in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) from a Windows environment. We’ll cover how to manage both manual and automatic mounting of Windows drives.

Step 1: Mount a Windows Drive in WSL

By default, WSL automatically mounts your Windows drives under the /mnt directory. However, if you need to manually mount a drive (for example, if you have disabled automatic mounting), you can do so using the wsl command.

1. Open PowerShell or Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Manually mount a Windows drive (e.g., D:) in WSL by running:

   wsl --mount <DiskPath> --partition <PartitionNumber> --type <Filesystem>

For example, to mount the D: drive, the command might look like this:

   wsl --mount \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1 --partition 1 --type ntfs

Example Output:

   Mounting drive \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1 to /mnt/d

Now, if you switch to WSL, you should be able to access the drive under /mnt/d.

Step 2: Unmount a Windows Drive in WSL

If you need to unmount a Windows drive from within WSL, you can use the umount or wsl --unmount commands.

1. Open WSL terminal (Ubuntu, Debian, etc.) or PowerShell/Command Prompt.
2. Unmount a drive (e.g., D:) by running:

   sudo umount /mnt/d

Alternatively, you can unmount the drive using PowerShell or Command Prompt with:

   wsl --unmount \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1

Example Output:

   Unmounting drive \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1 from /mnt/d

This will unmount the D: drive from WSL. You can verify it’s no longer mounted by listing the contents of /mnt:

   ls /mnt

Example Output:

   c
   e

If the d drive is no longer listed, it has been successfully unmounted.

Step 3: Verify Mounted Drives

To verify the currently mounted drives within WSL, you can list the contents of the /mnt directory:

1. Open WSL terminal.
2. List mounted drives:

   ls /mnt

Example Output:

   c  d  e

This shows that the C:, D:, and E: drives are mounted and accessible within WSL.

Step 4: Disable Automatic Mounting of Drives

If you prefer not to have Windows drives automatically mounted, you can modify the WSL configuration:

1. Create or Edit /etc/wsl.conf in your WSL terminal:

   sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf

2. Add the following configuration:

   [automount]
   enabled = false

3. Save the file and exit.
4. Restart WSL with:

   wsl --shutdown

This will prevent Windows drives from automatically mounting when you start WSL.

Example Scenario: Mount and Unmount External Drive

Let’s say you have an external drive connected to your Windows system as F:. Here’s how you would mount and unmount it in WSL:

1. Mount the External Drive (F:):

   wsl --mount \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE2 --partition 1 --type ntfs

Example Output:

   Mounting drive \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE2 to /mnt/f

2. Access the Mounted Drive in WSL:

   cd /mnt/f

3. Unmount the External Drive:

   wsl --unmount \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE2

Example Output:

   Unmounting drive \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE2 from /mnt/f

This guide should help you manage your drives within WSL from the Windows environment effectively. If you encounter any specific issues or need further customization, feel free to reach out!