Version 2.3.26 renders my vhdx WSL2 inoperable, revert to 2.3.24 solves the issue.

[secult]

Windows Version

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.22631.4317]

WSL Version

0.0.0.0 but 2.3.26.0

Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?

• WSL 2
• WSL 1

Kernel Version

5.15.153.1-2

Distro Version

Debian 11

Other Software

Corporate Windows with blocked Microsoft Store.

Repro Steps

After automatic upgrade, described in the event logs as 9P9TQF7MRM4R-MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemforLinux, WSL was nowhere to find. Running wsl.exe gave a message Failed to attach disk 'C:\Program Files\WSL\system.vhd' to WSL2: The system cannot find the file specified. Error code: Wsl/Service/CreateInstance/CreateVm/MountVhd/HCS/ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND.
I use a Debian installation and it's stored at %homedir%\AppData\Local\Packages\TheDebianProject.DebianGNULinux_76v4gfsz19hv4\LocalState\ext4.vhdx, not at the default path.
I tried to pick the distro from the wsl settings, specifying path to the ext4.vhdx file, but it is not possible to pick the vhdx file in the settings, only vhd. After converting I got an E_ACCESSDENIED error, so that was not an option either.

Eventually I reverted back to version 2.3.24.0 and wsl started to work again.

Expected Behavior

I would like to have a working version of WSL after automatic upgrade :-)

Actual Behavior

wsl.exe gives Failed to attach disk 'C:\Program Files\WSL\system.vhd' to WSL2: The system cannot find the file specified. Error code: Wsl/Service/CreateInstance/CreateVm/MountVhd/HCS/ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND
also wsl settings doesn't allow me to pick files with .vhdx suffix

Diagnostic Logs

No response

[github-actions]

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View similar issues

Please view the issues below to see if they solve your problem, and if the issue describes your problem please consider closing this one and thumbs upping the other issue to help us prioritize it!

Open similar issues:

• Corrupted filesystem with 2.3.26 (#12261), similarity score: 0.73

Closed similar issues:

• 2.3.12 reboots Windows and does not work after that (#11827), similarity score: 0.75
• [Only 2.1.5.0] Error code: Wsl/Service/CreateInstance/MountVhd/HCS/E_ACCESSDENIED (#11323), similarity score: 0.75
• Updating WSL broke the installation (#11013), similarity score: 0.74
• WSL 2.3.14 doesn't work on Windows 2025 (but 2.2.4 does) (#11878), similarity score: 0.74

Note: You can give me feedback by thumbs upping or thumbs downing this comment.

[github-actions]

Logs are required for review from WSL team

If this a feature request, please reply with '/feature'. If this is a question, reply with '/question'.
Otherwise please attach logs by following the instructions below, your issue will not be reviewed unless they are added. These logs will help us understand what is going on in your machine.

How to collect WSL logs

Download and execute collect-wsl-logs.ps1 in an administrative powershell prompt:

Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/WSL/master/diagnostics/collect-wsl-logs.ps1" -OutFile collect-wsl-logs.ps1
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
.\collect-wsl-logs.ps1

The script will output the path of the log file once done.

If this is a networking issue, please use collect-networking-logs.ps1, following the instructions here

Once completed please upload the output files to this Github issue.

Click here for more info on logging
If you choose to email these logs instead of attaching to the bug, please send them to [email protected] with the number of the github issue in the subject, and in the message a link to your comment in the github issue and reply with '/emailed-logs'.

View similar issues

Please view the issues below to see if they solve your problem, and if the issue describes your problem please consider closing this one and thumbs upping the other issue to help us prioritize it!

Open similar issues:

• WSL2: VHD file vanished after Windows 11 restart (#12126), similarity score: 0.73

Closed similar issues:

• [Only 2.1.5.0] Error code: Wsl/Service/CreateInstance/MountVhd/HCS/E_ACCESSDENIED (#11323), similarity score: 0.75
• 2.3.12 reboots Windows and does not work after that (#11827), similarity score: 0.74
• WSL2. Can no longer find 'C:\Program Files\WSL\system.vhd' (#11069), similarity score: 0.73
• WSL2 fails to start with Error code: Wsl/Service/CreateInstance/CreateVm/MountVhd/HCS/0x800706bf (#11033), similarity score: 0.73

Note: You can give me feedback by thumbs upping or thumbs downing this comment.

[secult]

/emailed-logs

[github-actions]

Diagnostic information

Found '/emailed-logs', adding tag 'emailed-logs'

[secult]

Custom system distro picker screenshot not giving an option to select vhdx. Not sure whether it's related or anyhow useful.

[TheoGibbons]

Thanks for posting this 😁, I had the exact same issue, downgrading fixed it.

[dx23366]

Same problem and solution here too. In case anybody is wondering about how you downgrade: just grab the MSI for the version you want from here and install it.