I’m brand new to Linux and I’ve decided I want to install Linux Mint. I was going to do it by dual booting my HDD. But, before I do that, I hear that you can install it using Windows Subsystem for Linux through a few steps. So, I tried to do it using the Linux Mint Repository on GitHub.
And with the help of an article, I’ve gotten quite far. But, the goal is to get a running GUI on WSL and I’ve installed tasksel. But, when I input the command to run tasksel on Mint, it wouldn’t launch. Is there something I’m doing wrong?
I’ve referred to an article on how to install it with the github repo and viewed a video that installs Ubuntu 24.0.1. I figured the process may be the same. But, that has not been the case. So, instead of continuing on getting frustrated, I’ve figured to ask for help. Thanks in advanced!
Please throw any questions at me to help me get a running system.
Personally, I would advise installing Linux in a separate partition, that’s what most of us do, but I have no experience of WSL. But to get help, could you post the output of the command you used or provide a bit more technical information?
You’re not doing anything wrong. The reason tasksel won’t launch is because it depends on systemd, and WSL doesn’t use systemd by default. That means tools like tasksel that rely on system services simply won’t work inside that environment.
If you’re trying to get a GUI working, you can install a desktop environment manually instead. For example, you can install XFCE with:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install xfce4
Then use an X server on Windows like VcXsrv or X410 to display it.
If you’re on Windows 11, it’s even easier since WSLg already supports GUI apps natively. You can just install something like xed or gnome-terminal and it’ll open in its own window.
So yeah, you don’t really need tasksel in WSL. It’s more useful on a regular Linux install that boots with systemd. If you let us know whether you’re on Windows 10 or 11 and…
Thank you! So I went with Virtual Box and installed it there. Everything is good now. But, I am inclined to try your suggestion too. I have Windows 11.
