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WSL.exe Crashes in Administrator PowerShell with Offline Windows PC

Omer 0 Reputation points
2025-06-12T14:18:54.2566667+00:00

Hello,

I'm encountering an issue with WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) on my offline Windows 10 PC (Version 21H2, OS Build 19044.1288).

When I run wsl from PowerShell (non-admin) it works fine, but when I run it from PowerShell as Administrator, it crashes immediately without any output.

Important Context:

  • This PC is completely offline (no internet access).
  • All installations were done offline, including:
    • enable Virtual Machine and WSL feature option
    • wsl_update_x64.msi
    • Manually imported Ubuntu distro
    • Docker Desktop and all supporting components

Side Effect:

I believe this WSL issue is also the reason I cannot get Docker Desktop to work — it likely depends on a functioning WSL backend, which is not responding properly.

Additional Details:

  • After every attempt to run wsl from Administrator PowerShell, a new crash report is generated in: 
      C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportQueue
  • Each crash creates a folder like: 
      AppCrash_wsl.exe_XXXXXXXX
    (XXXXXXXX appears to be a hash or unique ID)
  • I currently have 30–50 such folders, each matching the timestamp when I attempted to run wsl as admin.
  • This happens with any WSL command I try (e.g., wsl, wsl --list, wsl --help, etc.).
  • The reports are hard for me to understand, but I can attach them if it would help.

If there are any additional logs, crash reports, or diagnostic files that could help clarify the issue, I would be happy to provide them — just let me know what to collect and how. Since this PC is offline, please include steps that work without internet access.

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  1. Henry Mai 795 Reputation points
    2025-06-15T13:05:26.55+00:00

    Hello, I’m Henry, and I’d like to share my insights on this issue.

    I believe the best solution is to re-register and repair WSL components to resolve the problem.

    1. First we will Force-Disable WSL and Virtual Machine Platform. Run the following two commands as Administrator, one after the other:
    • Disables the Windows Subsystem for Linux feature
      • dism.exe /online /disable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /norestart
    • Disables the Virtual Machine Platform feature`
      • dism.exe /online /disable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /norestart
    1. Reboot Your Computer to** apply the changes.
    2. Re-enable WSL and Virtual Machine Platform**
    • After rebooting, open PowerShell as Administrator again. Run the following two commands to re-enable the features:
    • Re-enables the Windows Subsystem for Linux feature
      • dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
    • Re-enables the Virtual Machine Platform feature
      • dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
    1. Reboot Your Computer Again to finalize the installation of these features.
    2. After the second reboot, locate the wsl_update_x64.msi file you used for the initial installation. Run the wsl_update_x64.msi installer again. It will present you with a "Repair" option. Choose to Repair the existing installation. This will fix any corrupted kernel files or registration issues.
    3. After the repair is complete, run a simple WSL command PowerShell as Administrator.: wsl --status

    Hope this points you in the right direction for troubleshooting.

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