Windows 11 brings a lot of features over its predecessor, including the Windows Subsystem for Linux or WSL, which allows Windows to run the Linux terminal and images natively. However, the feature is still actively developing and keeps running into errors from time to time.
In this article, we’re talking about the wslregistrationdistribution failed error, its causes and what you can do to fix the problem.
What causes the 0x80370102 error?
There are several reasons that can cause this error. Some of the most common ones include:
- Using a Windows Insider Preview build.
- Switching from WSL 1 to WSL 2.
- Virtualisation isn’t enabled.
- Hyper-V isn’t enabled or isn’t supported.
Also read: How to install Kali Linux on Virtualbox?
How to fix error: 0x80370102?
Here are four fixes you can try out.
Enable virtualisation
If you’re running a virtual machine on your Windows PC or using the WSL, you need to enable virtualisation in the BIOS as it allows for better performance and can resolve a bunch of system issues.
Check out our detailed guide on how to enable virtualisation in the BIOS.
Enable Hyper-V
Enabling Hyper-V allows Windows to support virtual machines better and eliminate general bugs like the one we’re facing. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the start menu and search for Turn Windows features on or off. Click the corresponding search result.
Step 2: Look for Windows Hypervisor in the list and enable the feature by clicking the checkmark next to its name.
Once you’re done, restart your PC, and the error should be gone. Keep in mind that Hyper-V is not supported on Windows 10 and 11 Home versions.
Check your VM RAM settings
Check if you have enough RAM allocated for your virtual machines in the Windows Hyper-V VM Manager. If you don’t use Hyper-V but are linking your machine to third-party virtualisation software like VMware instead, those are the settings you need to check.
Basically, you need to know how much RAM the virtual machine is getting. Make sure it’s at least more than 2GB and disable any dynamic memory options that may automatically reduce the available memory to the virtual machine.
Expose Virtualisation extensions
Last but not least, you can also try exposing virtualisation extensions using Windows PowerShell to enable nested virtualisation to resolve the error.
Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for Windows PowerShell. Click Run as Administrator from the search result.
Step 2: Enter the following command and hit enter. Make sure to change the VMProcessor and VMName variables to target the machine you want.
Set-VMProcessor VMName -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $true
Also read: How to run Linux on top of Windows using VirtualBox?
