This is a brief guide to installing Debian on Windows using WSL.
To install WSL, launch PowerShell with the Run as administrator option and then type:
wsl --install
If you have a version from last year, you should update it and restart it:
wsl --update
wsl --shutdown
If you encounter problems with these steps, please seek out a labbie for help.
Next, install your distribution. I recommend doing this through the Microsoft app store. Choose Debian 12 or Ubuntu 24.04.
You should now be able to launch whichever version of Linux you installed through the Start menu.
If you encounter problems with these steps, please seek out a labbie for help.
Start by doing a system update from the command line:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
Then install the tools we will need:
sudo apt install curl clang lld lldb git icdiff make micro qemu-user-binfmt
If that succeeds then it means your Linux installation is working and up-to-date.