Windows 10 Bash command not working, despite turning on Developer Mode and enabling "Windows Subsystem for Linux"

Question

I followed the instruction that is widely available to enable bash in Windows 10. I updated Windows, turned on Developer mode, enabled "Windows subsystem for Linux (Beta)" in programs settings, and restarted the computer. But when search for "bash" in start menu and click on it, it does something for split of a second and then nothing happens; basically doesn't do anything or open anything. I tried to do it on the system, as well as through remote desktop connection from another machine. Neither worked.

Then I tried to right click on "bash" and run it as administrator (my user is already an admin anyways), but it prompts the following error: "A device attached to the system is not functioning."

I open the cmd and type bash, and I get this error: "Unsupported console settings. In order to use this feature the legacy console must be disabled."

Any help on that?

Thanks!

Solution 1

Open a cmd.exe, do a righclick on the title bar and open the Properties.

Now uncheck the entry Use legacy console (requires relaunch),

close cmd.exe and start a new cmd.exe. Now type bash to start installing of the bash.

Solution 2

To access bash in the current version of Windows 10 (early 2021) you need to install Ubuntu from the Windows store.

Comments

[Admin]

In my case, "use legacy console (requires relaunch)" was already unchecked, so I didn't have to uncheck anything. Nevertheless, I still get the same problem, i.e. when I click on "bash" it does nothing.

[magicandre1981]

@nbro which win10 version do you use?

[Admin]

Windows 10 pro. I'm not sure if I should follow any instructions here or not: stackoverflow.com/q/44829878/3924118.

[Admin]

Another weird thing now happened. I enabled "use legacy console (requires relaunch)" , then I restarted the computer. Then unchecked it again. Restarted. Then I opened the cmd and I get a black cmd (i.e. no prompt). I don't know what to do. I checked again that checkbox, then restarted and the cmd now seems to work properly. However, I cannot install bash, I guess, with that checked. So, now, I have one more problem than before. By the way, I had enabled Windows Subsystem For Linux, as explained here: laptopmag.com/articles/use-bash-shell-windows-10. The PowerShell seems to work.

[magicandre1981]

Pro is the SKU, with version I mean 1909/2004/20H2.

[Admin]

Apparently, my version is 1909.

[magicandre1981]

try update to 20xx version and see if it works there

[Admin]

How should I do that?

[magicandre1981]

blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2020/10/20/…

[Admin]

I installed version 20H2 (the latest apparently), but when I type "bash" on the cmd (which now shows thhttps://aka.ms/wslstoree prompt), it still shows me the message: "Windows Subsystem for Linux has no installed distributions. distributions can be installed by visiting the Microsoft Store: aka.ms/wslstore". Now, at least, when I go to that page, it doesn't show "something went wrong" and doesn't show anything, but it shows possible linux distributions I can get, including Ubuntu (which is what I wanted to install). I guess that's the way to proceed, at this point. Right?

[Admin]

Yes, that was the way to proceed. Now, when I type "bash", the ubuntu bash pops up in cmd. The thing I don't understand is: will this ubuntu "distribution" somehow be inside a virtual machine (or environment), i.e. whatever I install there will not be directly accessible from Windows?

[magicandre1981]

no it is not a VM. it is a kind of runtime to run Linux applications on top of Windows kernel. this is stored in *USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages*

[Admin]

If I do sudo apt update; sudo apt upgrade, then what's going to happen once I re-initiate the ubuntu bash shell? If it's a runtime, then I guess nothing will be saved there? So, in summary, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "runtime", but I guess this may not be the right place to discuss the issue (although I would appreciate an answer if you are familiar with the topic).

[magicandre1981]

ask a new question. I don't use the linux subsystem so I can't answer all questions