Windows 10 Ubuntu WSL freezes randomly

Question

I have installed Ubuntu Windows-Subsystem-for-Linux through Microsoft Store on my Windows 10 laptop, but it freezes randomly, for example when I run a command such as ls -l, gcc -o or even when the bash starts. What happens is that the whole bash just freezes, it doesn't run any command I type and many processes named bash, node and init appear in the Windows task manager which use close to 100% of the CPU. These processes can not be terminated through the Task Manager and they only close when I reboot the computer.

Task Manager

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling Ubuntu WSL from the Microsoft Store, installing different Ubuntu WSL versions, updating Windows 10 and creating a new Windows User. This issue appeared suddenly, as some days ago everything was working fine.

Solution

I had the same problem here. It seems to be linked to the latest Windows Update. I struggle to find the solution but it was actually quite simple : all you need to do is enable the Virtual Machine Platform option (not only the Linux subsystem option). You can find the instructions here. It worked like a charm for me, hope it will solve your problem !

Comments

[cup]

I get something similar but mine only has 2Gb memory and a hard disk so I expect that. Is the disk running at 100% too? Seems OK on machines with more memory.

[Mor Paz]

worked perfectly for me, for future reference the issue started occurring for me when using CLion with WSL after the latest windows update (didn't occur before with CLion)