Windows 11 - WSL2 takes 10+ minutes to launch

[plasma-vision]

Windows Version

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.22631.3737]

WSL Version

2.1.5.0

Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?

• WSL 2
• WSL 1

Kernel Version

5.15.146.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2

Distro Version

Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Kali Linux

Other Software

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client 4.10.08029 (this has known issues with WSL2, but I don't seem to be having problems with the networking)

Repro Steps

Start from a freshly booted computer.
Launch a WSL Linux distro, or run a WSL.EXE command.
Wait....................
.............................
.............................

Expected Behavior

I expect it to launch in less than a minute (previously it would launch in under 10 seconds).

Actual Behavior

I've tried 3 distros (Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04 and Kali Linux) and they all have the same problem.
Even trying to run wsl.exe commands takes 10+ minutes.

dmesg shows long gaps in time between hv_balloon and /sbin/ldconfig, then another gap between some Ioctl failed messages for dxgk and /sbin/ldconfig.real

See attached snippit from dmesg output.

I've fully uninstalled WSL and reinstalled, but the issue persists.

I've tried re-installing the NVIDIA drivers for Windows because the dxgk errors appear to be related to DirectX.
I tried disabling the GPU (gpuSupport=false) in .wslconfig, and that got rid of the Ioctl failures, but the loading of WSL took even longer.

Is anyone else experiencing this?

[    1.731326] EXT4-fs (sdc): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode. Opts: discard,errors=remount-ro,data=ordered. Quota mode: none.
[   49.650182] hv_balloon: Max. dynamic memory size: 16234 MB
[  375.557342] /sbin/ldconfig:
[  375.557345] /usr/lib/wsl/lib/libcuda.so.1 is not a symbolic link

[  375.701335] FS-Cache: Duplicate cookie detected
[  375.701705] FS-Cache: O-cookie c=00000008 [p=00000002 fl=222 nc=0 na=1]
[  375.701948] FS-Cache: O-cookie d=0000000085840207{9P.session} n=0000000035e3d955
[  375.702193] FS-Cache: O-key=[10] '34323934393734383430'
[  375.702372] FS-Cache: N-cookie c=00000009 [p=00000002 fl=2 nc=0 na=1]
[  375.702608] FS-Cache: N-cookie d=0000000085840207{9P.session} n=00000000c5a37aa8
[  375.702859] FS-Cache: N-key=[10] '34323934393734383430'
[  375.875271] misc dxg: dxgk: dxgkio_query_adapter_info: Ioctl failed: -22
[  375.875671] misc dxg: dxgk: dxgkio_query_adapter_info: Ioctl failed: -22
[  375.876001] misc dxg: dxgk: dxgkio_query_adapter_info: Ioctl failed: -22
[  375.876328] misc dxg: dxgk: dxgkio_query_adapter_info: Ioctl failed: -2
[  375.877581] misc dxg: dxgk: dxgkio_query_adapter_info: Ioctl failed: -22
[  375.877915] misc dxg: dxgk: dxgkio_query_adapter_info: Ioctl failed: -22
[  375.878203] misc dxg: dxgk: dxgkio_query_adapter_info: Ioctl failed: -22
[  375.878553] misc dxg: dxgk: dxgkio_query_adapter_info: Ioctl failed: -2
[  739.908389] /sbin/ldconfig.real:
[  739.908392] /usr/lib/wsl/lib/libcuda.so.1 is not a symbolic link

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!

Closed similar issues:

• It takes too long to start WSL (#10891), similarity score: 0.82
• WSL is taking a long time to start ~10s (#10341), similarity score: 0.78
• WSL2 Slow On New Win10 Update (#7999), similarity score: 0.78
• Extremely slow start ~50s (#10456), similarity score: 0.78
• WSL2: wsl.exe hangs for 10s of minutes before working (#11067), similarity score: 0.77

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[plasma-vision]

Well, moments after posting this, I managed to fix it.
I tried running wsl.exe --status, which timed out with a memory error, so I thought to try looking at Windows virtual memory settings (something I haven't thought of for years).
It was set to "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives". I unchecked that. Chose "no paging file" and clicked set. Then I changed my mind and switched back to "System managed size", and re-enabled "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" and clicked OK. It asked me to reboot, and now WSL launches quickly every time.
This seems like a totally random fix, if in fact that is what fixed the issue, but if you are having the same problem, give it a try.
I had been trying to fix this for weeks.

[plasma-vision]

I guess we can close this, since I was able to fix it. I'm still puzzled about why this was an issue, but I've wasted enough time on it already. I hope it helps someone else facing the same issue.