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Add troubleshooting step for wsl --install code 403 #2522

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Add troubleshooting step for code 403
Apr 27, 2026
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Apr 27, 2026
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3 changes: 3 additions & 0 deletions WSL/troubleshooting.md
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Expand Up @@ -103,6 +103,9 @@ You can also:
- **Error: WSL 2 requires an update to its kernel component. For information please visit [step 4](./install-manual.md#step-4---download-the-linux-kernel-update-package)**
- If the Linux kernel package is missing in the `%SystemRoot%\system32\lxss\tools` folder, you will encounter this error. Resolve it by installing the Linux kernel update MSI package in [step 4](./install-manual.md#step-4---download-the-linux-kernel-update-package) of these installation instructions. You may need to uninstall the MSI from "[Add or Remove Programs](ms-settings:appsfeatures-app)", and install it again.

- **WSL --install fails with "Forbidden (403)."**
- This could be caused by the github unauthenticated request rate limit. When this happens, please try download the .msi installer directly from [WSL github releases](https://github.com/microsoft/WSL/releases) and install with the installer.

## Common issues

### Error: 0x1bc when `wsl --set-default-version 2`
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