Unable to upgrade/uninstall WSL and unable to install any distro

[ogas-zsbd]

Windows Version

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26100.2894]

WSL Version

2.0.9.0

Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?

• WSL 2
• WSL 1

Kernel Version

5.15.133.1-1

Distro Version

No response

Other Software

Sorry, I am not an English user. The following content has been summarized and translated by ChatGPT.

Repro Steps

1. Attempt to install Ubuntu using wsl --install.
2. output:

   Ubuntu is already installed.
   Launching Ubuntu...
   Installing, this may take a few minutes...
   WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80071772
   Error: 0x80071772 The specified file is encrypted and the user does not have the ability to decrypt it.
   
   Press any key to continue...
   

3. After pressing Enter, observe that no distribution is actually installed.
4. Attempt to update WSL using wsl --update and check the version with wsl --version.
5. The version remains 2.0.9.0 despite the update attempt.
6. When trying wsl --update again later, receive:

   Checking for updates.
   Forbidden (403).
   Error code: Wsl/UpdatePackage/0x80190193
   

7. Attempt wsl --update --web-download, but the same output is produced.
8. Try to uninstall WSL by going to Control Panel -> Uninstall a Program and selecting WSL.
9. The following pop-up windows appear (screenshots provided)

Expected Behavior

• Ubuntu should install successfully when running wsl --install.
• WSL should update successfully to the latest version when using wsl --update.
• WSL should be uninstallable via Control Panel -> Uninstall a Program without errors.

Actual Behavior

• The installation command wsl --install fails with the error WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80071772.
• The WSL update command wsl --update does not update the version and remains at 2.0.9.0.
• Running wsl --update later results in a 403 Forbidden error (Wsl/UpdatePackage/0x80190193).
• The uninstallation process fails due to the missing wsl.msi file, which prevents proper removal of WSL.

Screenshots of the uninstallation issue:

1. 
2. 
3. 

Diagnostic Logs

WslLogs-2025-01-27_22-18-31.zip

Regarding the troubleshooting steps provided by MS , I have ensured that I’ve tried all of them. Everything was working fine before, but recently I encountered the issue after needing to use it again. Perhaps the issue arose after I upgraded from Windows 11 23H2 to 24H2 about a week ago? However, I suspect it’s more likely caused by a cleanup software deleting the .msi file. The missing .msi file has been preventing me from upgrading or uninstalling, and it has caused repeated issues. Unfortunately, I just can't find the corresponding wsl.msi file this time.

[github-actions]

Failed to parse logs. Unexpected file: .wslconfig
The log file doesn't contain any WSL traces. Please make sure that you reproduced the issue while the log collection was running.

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:

• Windows Insider Preview update causes WSL to fail to run and prevents reinstallation [Version 10.0.26100.1] (#11495), similarity score: 0.78
• WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80071772 Error: 0x80071772 The specified file is encrypted and the user does not have the ability to decrypt it. (#10324), similarity score: 0.77

Closed similar issues:

• Error 0x8007019e and Wsl/CallMsi/0x80070424 and Wsl/REGDB_E_CLASSNOTREG (#11683), similarity score: 0.77
• WSL 2 update error 0x80070643, WSL 2 cannot be deleted (#7287), similarity score: 0.77
• Error about "WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80070002" (#12148), similarity score: 0.76

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

Diagnostic information

Found no WSL traces in the logs

[ogas-zsbd]

I solved the uninstallation issue by following the steps [here](#7287), and now I have reinstalled the latest version of WSL. The output of wsl --version is as follows:

WSL version: 2.3.26.0
Kernel version: 5.15.167.4-1
WSLg version: 1.0.65
MSRDC version: 1.2.5620
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.26100.1-240331-1435.ge-release
Windows version: 10.0.26100.2894

However, unfortunately, I still cannot install Ubuntu successfully. The output when running wsl --install is as follows:

Ubuntu is already installed.
Launching Ubuntu...
Installing, this may take a few minutes...
WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80071772
Error: 0x80071772 The specified file is encrypted and the user does not have the ability to decrypt it.

Press any key to continue...

[ogas-zsbd]

Alright, I found the solution to the Ubuntu installation issue in this comment
Apologies for my hasty question; all issues have been resolved thanks to the bot-recommended issue.