Forum Discussion
I have several questions involving WSL and Docker Desktop
Today I discovered that the SQL Server Developer Edition database I created, is no longer available, because the machine it was on has died. Fortunately, I saved a full backup of the database to my OneDrive, so I should be able to restore it.
A couple months ago I thought I'd give Docker Desktop a try, however because I've been developing in Windows for a long time, I wanted to get a Windows container going in Docker Desktop. I ran into problems, then other priorities came long, etc. Bottom line, I'm only now getting back to it.
I've tried to determine what version of WSL I have installed, following instructions I https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install#check-which-version-of-wsl-you-are-running, but that didn't work. Instead, I got this error:
Windows Subsystem for Linux has no installed distributions.
Distributions can be installed by visiting the Microsoft Store:
https://aka.ms/wslstore
So, I went to the Microsoft Store and was shown two different WSL 2 versions. Which do I get?
But I'm wondering, do I need to install Ubuntu into a WSL 2 instance? I thought that was installed automatically when I installed Docker Desktop. But I don't understand why I get the error I do.
Bottom line, I don't understand how to use WSL 2, Docker Desktop, the Ubuntu distro, etc., because I'm performing searches and getting bits and pieces out of order. I'm lost and very confused. I'd appreciate some direction, please.
4 Replies
- Since you have a full backup of the database stored on your OneDrive, you should be able to restore it once you have a SQL Server instance available. You can install SQL Server Developer Edition on your Windows machine again or consider running it within a Docker container. If you choose to run it in a Docker container, make sure to follow the necessary steps to mount the backup file into the container and restore the database.
When you visit the Microsoft Store to install a WSL distribution, you'll typically find various Linux distributions available. These distributions offer different environments and package managers. Popular options include Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora. You can choose the one that best fits your preferences or matches the Linux environment you're most comfortable with. Alabamatom1963 some of that works. For example, when I issue the command docker --version in a PowerShell prompt, I get an answer of
Docker version 26.0.0, build 2ae903e
However, when I issue the command wsl -l -v I get the response:
Windows Subsystem for Linux has no installed distributions.
Distributions can be installed by visiting the Microsoft Store:
https://aka.ms/wslstore
