Access denied after moving my Ubuntu distribution to another drive

After a when trying to start Ubuntu under Windows Terminal I get:


The vdhx file moved correctly to the new location.


Also when starting Docker Desktop I get a similar:


I tried to assign all permissions to my standard user. I also tried to change owner from my user to Administrator, and finally back again. Nothing helped.

When looking for a solution that was one of the ways to do it. However, since a very recent WSL2 update the -move command is supported. I think its a bug and have reported it on github. However, I have the feeling it's an ownership issue, but there exist no other users than me and Administrator on my machine.

kgeorg said:

When looking for a solution that was one of the ways to do it. However, since a very recent WSL2 update the -move command is supported. I think its a bug and have reported it on github. However, I have the feeling it's an ownership issue, but there exist no other users than me and Administrator on my machine.

Click to expand...

can you get to the Ubuntu Terminal
if you can get to the terminal
please try at the command prompt ..

sudo update grub

enter your password then press enter

and see if the boot loader is updated for the new location of Ubuntu.
best of luck Steve ..

That didn't work. Never got into Ubuntu. Same error message as in Windows Terminal above. I did, in the end, move the file back to its original location and it works again. However, I moved it in the first place because I was running out of space on my C: drive (only a 265 GB SSD).

kgeorg said:

That didn't work. Never got into Ubuntu. Same error message as in Windows Terminal above. I did, in the end, move the file back to its original location and it works again. However, I moved it in the first place because I was running out of space on my C: drive (only a 265 GB SSD).

Click to expand...

now you can get back into ubuntu

open the file /etc/default/grub.conf

check the drive entry within that file for its location
ie. SBA then open disks and get the location entry for the disk you wish to move the VM to

change the grub entry in nano in a terminal
sudo nano then the grub file location /etc/default/grub.conf
add the new location for the drive you wish to transfer the VM and save the file
ctrl and x then 's' then enter

open a terminal and > sudo update grub <

once grub has been updated move the Ubuntu VM to the new location
and then try to boot the Ubuntu VM.

if this doesn't work you can change the grub entry via nano to its default
before any changes and re-locate the file back to C: drive ..

best of luck Steve ..

There is no grub.conf in /etc/default

Also, I don't think this is it. This is inside the virtual disk, right? But it looks like WSL isn't able to mount the disk because of permission problems.

Run PowerShell (as Admin) - replace the path with your file: p=′D:\WSL2Distros\ext4.vhdx′takeown/fp /a icacls p/grant"NTAUTHORITY\SYSTEM:(F)""Administrators:(F)""Users:(RX)"icacls(Split−Pathp) /grant "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:(F)" "Administrators:(F)" "Users:(RX)"

takeown /a makes Administrators the owner - WSL expects SYSTEM/Administrators rights on the file. If you prefer your user to own it - run takeown without /a then icacls to give SYSTEM full control too.

If that doesn't work, temporarily disable Controlled Folder Access - or add wsl.exe and your drive/folder as allowed, as in:

Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage ransomware protection > Turn off Controlled folder access - or add these allowed apps:

C:\Windows\System32\wsl.exe

C:\Windows\System32\vmcompute.exe (if present)

Optionally add the whole D:\WSL2Distros folder as an allowed folder. Reboot Windows to ensure services see the ACL changes - then run:

wsl -l -v wsl -d Ubuntu

If still failing - try export/import instead of move (that's the safer option)

wsl --export Ubuntu C:\temp\ubuntu.tar
wsl --unregister Ubuntu
mkdir D:\WSL2Distros\Ubuntu
wsl --import Ubuntu D:\WSL2Distros\Ubuntu C:\temp\ubuntu.tar --version 2

If you can get into your previous version of Ubuntu - disable the firewall before moving the VM - that could be a problem as well as any selinux security you've got operating.
The problem might not actually be from the Windows end.

I don't like Ubuntu - more problems than its worth IMHO and I've been using Linux "Since Pontius was a Pilot" (Pilate for those unfamiliar with "the Good Book") !!. Plus I don't like Canonical - the company behind the distro. You're a lot better off with say FEDORA (Red Hat - now owned by IBM whose software record is pretty good on the whole), Debian private but still rigoursly maintained with emphasis on stability so older stable software, ArchLinux ("Roll your own - great for people who want to tinker and make the thing lean and mean and lightning fast) or SUSE - big german company who apply legendary Teutonic efficiency to their products. Some of these also have MINT variations for people who like Linux Mint e.g look at Fedora "spins".

Windows Hyper-V as a host is usually pretty good but it does sometimes get its knickers in a twist when moving VM's - probably the best thing is to re-create the VM from scratch and don't use GRUB as the default boot loader any more - it's gradually being deprecated - certainly in the latest more up to date distros.

Cheers
jimbp