Install Debian in Different Location -WSL Windows

I was trying to install Debian in different location rather than the C drive . Sharing the steps I took .

OS : Windows 11 WSL Version : Wsl 2

1. First install Debian as by default in C

wsl --install -d Debian

2. Shut down wsl

wsl --shutdown

3. Export Debian to your desired location

In my case its E :

 wsl --export Debian E:\wsl_export\debian-ex.tar

4. Now unregister your old Debian from wsl

wsl --unregister Debian

5. Now import Debian to the Disk

wsl --import Debian "E:\wsl\Debian" "E:\wsl_export\debian-ex.tar"

6. Cleanup You can remove your backup now and set Debian as default

wsl --set-default Debian

Extra tips

• To make your user in debian superuser : After migrating you might loose your default login using username you created before .

Login to Debian , By default you will be logged in as root and hit following

sudo usermod -aG sudo username

• Change default user

nano /etc/wsl.conf

Replace username with your username

[user]
default=username

Now wsl --shutdown and login debian again you should be logged in as your default user with sudo access