In this lesson, we will go through the steps to completely uninstall the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on Windows 11. While Microsoft has streamlined the setup for WSL, running Linux inside Windows 11 requires installing multiple components.
If you wish to uninstall everything, the process is straightforward as long as you know what needs to be removed from your computer.
How to Uninstall WSL from Windows 11
To completely remove WSL from Windows 11, you have to uninstall the installed Linux distribution, remove leftover WSL components, and disable the Windows feature related to Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Let’s dive into all these steps.
1. Remove Installed Linux Distributions
First of all, we have to remove the installed Linux distributions. To do that, you can use the Windows settings. Here’s how:
1. Open the Start menu and search for Settings.
2. Go to Apps and select Installed Apps.
3. Search for and remove all the Linux distributions you have installed. In this example, I only had the Debian distribution installed. I searched for it and click on the three-dot icon.
4. Click Uninstall, and confirmed the action.
If you have multiple distributions, repeat this process for each one.
2. Remove Leftover WSL Components
In the past, the Windows Subsystem for Linux component was removable via the Installed Apps section. However, Microsoft has since moved this component to System Components. Unfortunately, there is no longer an option to remove it directly through the menu.
To remove the WSL component, you’ll need to use PowerShell:
1. Open the Start menu and search for PowerShell or Windows Terminal.
2. Right-click the app and select Run as Administrator.
3. Run the following command to remove WSL:
Get-AppxPackage MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForLinux | Remove-AppxPackage4. After that, close PowerShell and restart your computer.
You can double-check that WSL has been removed by going back to Settings > System > System Components. The WSL component should no longer be available.
3. Disable Windows Features
The final step is to disable the Windows features required by WSL. Here’s how:
1. Open the Start menu and search for Turn Windows features on or off.
2. Open the app and clear the checkboxes for:
- Windows Subsystem for Linux
- Virtual Machine Platform
3. Click OK.
4. Restart your computer to complete the process.
Once the restart is complete, WSL will be fully removed from your Windows 11 system. That’s it. These are the steps to completely uninstall WSL from your computer.
