Unable to run WSL: Catastrophic Failure , Update loop

[BuzyOwl]

Windows Version

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26100.4351]

WSL Version

0.0.0.0

Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?

• WSL 2
• WSL 1

Kernel Version

No response

Distro Version

No response

Other Software

Docker Desktop
Cursur
Windows VS Code

Repro Steps

I installed the cursor, and VS Code was using it as a hobby for a while, everything was working. Still, when I downloaded and installed Docker Desktop, it started asking for a WSL update. I installed Ubuntu from the store. Now my system is in a loop of every time i try to run any IDE or Docker, it asks to update WSL, which leads to Catastrophic Failure. I tried everything

What I have done to fix it...

1. Uninstall and reinstall of Docker
2. checked in my features list if my Virtual machine, Windows Hypervisor and WSL are active.
3. Reset the network using the netsh commands
4. Tried manual installation of WSL, but that gave an error that it was already installed.
5. checked WSL -v and asking for update.
6. Looked for errors in system logs and reinstalled the nVidia graphics card driver
7. Reinstalled the entire Windows using a repair file, but still the same.

I have also checked other threads, and the only option I see is resetting the device, which ideally I don't want to...

Is it an issue with my registry?

Expected Behavior

The PowerShell or CMD is giving me confirmation of installation success, and the IDE and other Ubuntu machines are running smoothly.

Actual Behavior

Asking to update WSL, downloading and trying to install only to give a Catastrophic Failure loop.
When I check for version... It gives me a version of WSL instead, and it asks me to update again.

Diagnostic Logs

No response

[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 wsl-gh-logs@microsoft.com 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'.

[BuzyOwl]

WslLogs-2025-06-19_17-08-13.zip <--- Logs attached

[github-actions]

Diagnostic information

Appx package is not installed

[BuzyOwl]

If I try to install WSL manually, I get

[BuzyOwl]

It's the same with PowerShell or other terminals trying to run Ubuntu or WSL, and yes, I was running them as Administrator.

[OneBlue]

Looks like msiexec is returning non-zero here. BuzyOwl: What do you get if you manually try to install the latest MSI package ?

[microsoft-github-policy-service]

This issue has been automatically closed since it has not had any author activity for the past 7 days. If you're still experiencing this issue please re-file it as a new issue.

Thank you!

[Rajpatel221254]

i got the same error while trying to install wsl update , i need wsl updated version to use docker dekstop

C:\Windows\System32>wsl.exe --install
Downloading: Windows Subsystem for Linux 2.6.3
Installing: Windows Subsystem for Linux 2.6.3
Catastrophic failure