MajorLinux
6592eb4fea
- Fixed 4 broken markdown links (bad relative paths in See Also sections) - Corrected n8n port binding to 127.0.0.1:5678 (matches actual deployment) - Updated SnapRAID article with actual majorhome paths (/majorRAID, disk1-3) - Converted 67 Obsidian wikilinks to relative markdown links or plain text - Added YAML frontmatter to 35 articles missing it entirely - Completed frontmatter on 8 articles with missing fields Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
102 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
102 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: WSL2 Instance Migration (Fedora 43)
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domain: linux
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category: distro-specific
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tags:
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- wsl2
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- fedora
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- windows
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- migration
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- majorrig
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status: published
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created: '2026-03-06'
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updated: '2026-03-08'
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---
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# WSL2 Instance Migration (Fedora 43)
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To move a WSL2 distro from C: to another drive, export it to a tar file with `wsl --export`, unregister the original, then re-import it at the new location with `wsl --import`. After import you'll need to fix the default user — WSL always resets it to root on import, which you patch via `/etc/wsl.conf`.
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## The Short Answer
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```powershell
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wsl --terminate Fedora-43
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wsl --export Fedora-43 D:\fedora_backup.tar
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wsl --unregister Fedora-43
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mkdir D:\WSL\Fedora43
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wsl --import Fedora-43 D:\WSL\Fedora43 D:\fedora_backup.tar --version 2
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```
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Then fix the default user — see Steps below.
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## Background
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WSL2 stores each distro as a VHDX on whatever drive it was installed to, which is C: by default. If you're running Unsloth fine-tuning runs or doing anything that generates large files in WSL2, C: fills up fast. The migration is straightforward but the import resets your default user to root, which you have to fix manually.
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## Steps
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1. Shut down the instance cleanly
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```powershell
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wsl --terminate Fedora-43
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```
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2. Export to the destination drive
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```powershell
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wsl --export Fedora-43 D:\fedora_backup.tar
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```
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3. Remove the C: instance
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```powershell
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wsl --unregister Fedora-43
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```
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4. Create the new directory and import
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```powershell
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mkdir D:\WSL\Fedora43
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wsl --import Fedora-43 D:\WSL\Fedora43 D:\fedora_backup.tar --version 2
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```
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5. Fix the default user and enable systemd — edit `/etc/wsl.conf` inside the distro
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```ini
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[boot]
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systemd=true
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[user]
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default=majorlinux
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```
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6. Restart WSL to apply
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```powershell
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wsl --shutdown
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wsl -d Fedora-43
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```
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## Gotchas & Notes
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- **Default user always resets to root on import** — this is expected WSL behavior. The `/etc/wsl.conf` fix is mandatory, not optional.
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- **Windows Terminal profiles:** If the GUID changed after re-registration, update the profile. The command line stays the same: `wsl.exe -d Fedora-43`.
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- **Verify the VHDX landed correctly:** Check `D:\WSL\Fedora43\ext4.vhdx` exists before deleting the backup tar.
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- **Keep the tar until verified:** Don't delete `D:\fedora_backup.tar` until you've confirmed the migrated instance works correctly.
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- **systemd=true is required for Fedora 43** — without it, services (including Docker and Ollama in WSL) won't start properly.
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## Maintenance Aliases (DNF5)
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Fedora 43 ships with DNF5. Add these to `~/.bashrc`:
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```bash
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alias update='sudo dnf upgrade --refresh'
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alias install='sudo dnf install'
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alias clean='sudo dnf clean all'
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```
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## See Also
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- Managing disk space on MajorRig
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- Unsloth QLoRA fine-tuning setup
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