wiki: add WSL2 Fedora 44 in-place upgrade article (gcc14 blocker + CUDA repo swap)

01-linux/distro-specific/wsl2-fedora44-inplace-upgrade.md

@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+---
+title: WSL2 In-Place Upgrade to Fedora 44 (with gcc14 Blocker + CUDA Repo Swap)
+domain: linux
+category: distro-specific
+tags:
+  - wsl2
+  - fedora
+  - windows
+  - upgrade
+  - dnf
+  - cuda
+  - majorrig
+status: published
+created: 2026-06-11
+updated: 2026-06-11
+---
+
+# WSL2 In-Place Upgrade to Fedora 44 (with gcc14 Blocker + CUDA Repo Swap)
+
+In-place upgrade of the FedoraLinux-43 WSL2 instance on MajorRig to Fedora 44 using `dnf system-upgrade` + `dnf5 offline reboot`. Hit one transaction blocker (`gcc14` compat package retired in F44) and swapped the stale `cuda-fedora39` repo to `cuda-fedora44` afterward. Performed 2026-06-11.
+
+## The Short Answer
+
+```powershell
+# PowerShell — backup first
+wsl --shutdown
+wsl --export FedoraLinux-43 D:\backups\fedora43.tar
+```
+
+```bash
+# Inside Fedora
+sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y
+sudo shutdown -h now
+# relaunch, then:
+sudo dnf remove gcc14-c++ gcc14        # F44 dropped gcc14 — blocks the transaction
+sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=44
+sudo dnf5 offline reboot               # applies offline upgrade, shuts distro down
+# wait a few minutes, relaunch:
+cat /etc/fedora-release                # → Fedora release 44 (Forty Four)
+```
+
+```powershell
+# PowerShell — keep WSL itself current
+wsl --update
+```
+
+## Steps
+
+1. **Back up the instance** (PowerShell). The export tar is roughly the size of the installed system — this one was 86 GB. The target directory must already exist or you get `Wsl/ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND`.
+
+```powershell
+wsl --shutdown
+mkdir D:\backups
+wsl --export FedoraLinux-43 D:\backups\fedora43.tar
+```
+
+2. **Fully update the current release, then restart the distro**
+
+```bash
+sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y
+sudo shutdown -h now
+```
+
+3. **Remove upgrade blockers.** `gcc14`/`gcc14-c++` (compat packages) were retired in Fedora 44, so the transaction fails with "does not belong to a distupgrade repository". Remove them (or use `--allowerasing` and review the summary):
+
+```bash
+sudo dnf remove gcc14-c++ gcc14
+```
+
+4. **Download and apply the upgrade**
+
+```bash
+sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=44
+sudo dnf5 offline reboot
+```
+
+The "reboot" applies the offline transaction and shuts the distro down — there's no real systemd reboot in WSL. Wait a couple of minutes, then relaunch. If it errors on `systemctl`, the fallback is:
+
+```bash
+export DNF_SYSTEM_UPGRADE_NO_REBOOT=1
+sudo -E dnf system-upgrade reboot
+```
+
+5. **Verify and tidy up**
+
+```bash
+cat /etc/fedora-release      # Fedora release 44 (Forty Four)
+sudo dnf upgrade --refresh   # catch post-upgrade updates
+gcc --version                # F44 ships gcc 16; reinstall with `dnf install gcc gcc-c++` if removed
+```
+
+```powershell
+wsl --update   # fixes the post-upgrade Wsl/Service/E_UNEXPECTED catastrophic failure some users hit
+```
+
+## CUDA Repo Swap
+
+`dnf repolist` still showed `cuda-fedora39-x86_64` — NVIDIA repos are pinned per Fedora release and don't follow distro upgrades. NVIDIA publishes a fedora44 repo:
+
+```bash
+sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/cuda-fedora39*.repo
+sudo dnf config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/repos/fedora44/x86_64/cuda-fedora44.repo
+sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
+sudo dnf repolist   # confirm cuda-fedora44-x86_64
+```
+
+**WSL caveat:** never install the NVIDIA *driver* inside WSL — the Windows host driver provides the GPU. Only install toolkit packages (e.g. `cuda-toolkit`).
+
+## Gotchas & Notes
+
+- **Don't skip more than two releases** in one jump — staged upgrades otherwise.
+- **The WSL distro name is just a Windows label** — it still says "FedoraLinux-43" after the upgrade. Cosmetic fixes: Windows Terminal profile name, Start Menu shortcut, and `DistributionName`/`ShortcutPath` under `HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lxss\{uuid}`.
+- **Keep the backup tar** until the upgraded instance has proven stable for a few days, then delete to reclaim the space.
+- **Restore path if needed:** `wsl --import FedoraRestore C:\WSL\FedoraRestore D:\backups\fedora43.tar` — remember imports default to root; fix via `/etc/wsl.conf` `[user] default=majorlinux`.
+
+## See Also
+
+- [WSL2 Instance Migration (Fedora 43)](wsl2-instance-migration-fedora43.md)
+- [WSL2 Backup via PowerShell](wsl2-backup-powershell.md)

01-linux/index.md

@@ -27,3 +27,4 @@ A collection of guides covering Linux administration, shell scripting, networkin
 
 - [Linux Distro Guide for Beginners](distro-specific/linux-distro-guide-beginners.md)
 - [WSL2 Instance Migration to Fedora 43](distro-specific/wsl2-instance-migration-fedora43.md)
+- [WSL2 In-Place Upgrade to Fedora 44](distro-specific/wsl2-fedora44-inplace-upgrade.md)

SUMMARY.md

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ updated: 2026-05-15T09:00
     * [WSL2 Instance Migration to Fedora 43](01-linux/distro-specific/wsl2-instance-migration-fedora43.md)
     * [WSL2 Training Environment Rebuild](01-linux/distro-specific/wsl2-rebuild-fedora43-training-env.md)
     * [WSL2 Backup via PowerShell](01-linux/distro-specific/wsl2-backup-powershell.md)
+    * [WSL2 In-Place Upgrade to Fedora 44](01-linux/distro-specific/wsl2-fedora44-inplace-upgrade.md)
 * [Self-Hosting & Homelab](02-selfhosting/index.md)
     * [Self-Hosting Starter Guide](02-selfhosting/docker/self-hosting-starter-guide.md)
     * [Docker vs VMs for the Homelab](02-selfhosting/docker/docker-vs-vms-homelab.md)