WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80070002 Error: 0x80070002 The system cannot find the file specified.
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kartik kunjekar
15
Reputation points
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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Avi Elenko 0 Reputation points2025-12-10T16:30:15.81+00:00 Same issue, post Windows 11 update. When opening Ubuntu
WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80070002
Error: 0x80070002 The system cannot find the file specified.
All was working well for over a year... dead in the water now.
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Vasileios Dionysopoulos 646 Reputation points2026-10-27T19:02:33.28+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 --statusandwsl --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.
I couldn't reproduce your exact 0x80070002 error, so this may not be the same root cause.
Could you share the output of
wsl --statusandwsl --list --verbose? That would help narrow things down without risking your existing Ubuntu data.Hope this helps!
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JuliaMarvin 23,680 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator2026-10-28T07:55:30.7266667+00:00 @Vasileios Dionysopoulos
Please refrain from resurrecting old threads.
See: [Article] Community Tip: Get the most out of active questions