Bend or Windows: A Simple Guide to Installation and Care

Okay, let’s talk about how to run Linux stuff on Windows. It took me a little while to figure it out, but I got it working in the end. And I will share my experience with you.

Step one: Get that WSL Thing

First things first, I needed to get this thing called WSL, which stands for “Windows Subsystem for Linux.” You know, I don’t understand these technical terms. It’s some kind of add-on that lets you run a mini Linux computer inside your Windows. To do this, I just opened up PowerShell with admin rights. You can find it by searching in the start menu and then make sure to click “Run as administrator.” Then, I typed in this command:

• wsl --install

And then hit Enter. It took a while to download and install stuff.

Step two: Reboot

After WSL installation was done, I had to restart my computer. Pretty standard stuff when installing new things, so I did a reboot.

Step three: Pick a Linux

Once my computer was back up, that WSL thing prompted me to pick a version of Linux. It’s like choosing a flavor of ice cream, I guess. I went with Ubuntu because it seems pretty popular and easy to use. They had other options too, but I didn’t know much about them.

Step four: Set Up Ubuntu

So, I picked Ubuntu and it started installing. Another waiting game, but it was faster this time. It asked me to create a username and password for the Linux system. I just used my usual go-to username and a simple password that I won’t forget.

Step five: Update Everything

Once Ubuntu was set up, I opened it from the Start Menu. It looked like a regular command prompt. I knew I had to update everything to make sure it’s all fresh and secure. These are the commands I typed in:

• sudo apt update
• sudo apt upgrade

Again, some more waiting. But after that, I had a working Linux environment on my Windows machine. And it’s ready to use.

Finally Use it!

Now I can run all sorts of Linux commands and programs right from Windows. I tried running a simple Python script that I used to use on my old Linux laptop, and it worked like a charm. It’s pretty neat to have both operating systems kind of merged together like this.

So yeah, that’s my little journey into getting Linux running on Windows. It wasn’t too bad, just a bit of waiting and following some instructions. If I can do it, you guys probably can too. Hope this helps someone out there!