#1 2018-03-10 06:03:52

cloverskull

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Registered: 2015-10-01

Posts: 348

BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

Hey guys,

I just installed the Windows Subsystem for Linux by following this guide. I'll summarize the steps here:

1. Open Powershell as admin

2. Run

   Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux

3. Reboot

Next, go into the Windows Store and search for Debian. There's a package you can install. Note that this requires you be on Windows build 16215 or later. If you're on earlier Windows, you should upgrade, because managing these distros through lxrun could become a bit murky moving forward.

Install Debian from the Windows Store and launch it. It'll create a basic installation, ask you for a username and password.

I found that I had a perfectly boring and basic Debian Stretch running sort of "native" on Windows at this point. Cool! I usually use my Windows laptop for work and gaming, but like using linux for programming and putzing around, so for me, this was an ideal scenario. That said, the basic Debian (9.3, stretch) that ships has no real utility. We have to get it up to snuff, first.

sudo apt update -y
sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt dist-upgrade -y
sudo apt install aptitude
sudo aptitude install ~pstandard ~prequired ~pimportant -F%

Now exit with 'exit' and relaunch by using the Debian icon in your Start menu. Let's bunsen-ify it with the helium-netinstall dev script.

Log back in, and as your regular user

wget https://github.com/bunsenlabs/bunsen-netinstall/archive/helium-dev.tar.gz
tar xzvf helium-dev.tar.gz
cd bunsen-netinstall-helium-dev
./install

Now, obviously this isn't going to work for us out of the box. We need to install a package 'xrdp' and pipe everything through a virtual remote desktop. Instead of rebooting when the script asks for a reboot, let's install xrdp, and enable it for future logins.

sudo apt install xrdp
sudo service dbus start
sudo service xrdp start

I noticed a strange thing - my user didn't have what I'd expect in ~/.config - running the following one time manually should fix that:

/usr/lib/bunsen/configs/bl-user-setup

Now, exit out completely and reboot. Launch Remote Desktop in Windows and connect to 127.0.0.1 and authenticate with the user you made in Debian.

If you can't connect directly to 127.0.0.1 with Remote Desktop, it's likely that xrdp didn't survive the reboot. Just run the following and then retry your Remote Desktop connection:

sudo service dbus start
sudo service xrdp start

I notice that WSL doesn't play nicely with systemd, hence why we're doing everything through legacy debian init scripts. *shrug*. Enjoy!

cloverskull

Member

Registered: 2015-10-01

Posts: 348

Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

Obligatory screenshot:

Last edited by cloverskull (2018-03-10 06:18:29)

tknomanzr

BL Die Hard

From: Around the Bend

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 1,057

Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

Awesome! I've been wanting to do this since I heard about it. I'm glad you were able to get it running. So it's basically running as a docker container, correct?

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Head_on_a_Stick

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From: London

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 9,093

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Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

This is awesome, thanks cloverskull!

I noticed a strange thing - my user didn't have what I'd expect in ~/.config - running the following one time manually should fix that:

/usr/lib/bunsen/configs/bl-user-setup

We need LightDM to set the desktop up, you can get the same effect without a display manager by adding a file at /etc/profile.d/bunsen.sh with this content:

#!/bin/sh
if [ ! -f "${HOME}/.config/bunsen/bl-setup" ]; then
   /usr/lib/bunsen/configs/bl-user-setup
fi

And then make it executable:

sudo chmod +x /etc/profile.d/bunsen.sh

That will auto-configure the desktop for any new users

Bug report for this issue here:

https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic.php?id=4647

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cloverskull

Member

Registered: 2015-10-01

Posts: 348

Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

Ah, nice one @HOAS. You can see I haven't been paying attention to the command line boot thread

@tknomanzr I'm not really sure if it's similar to a docker container. I actually have no idea how this WSL thing works.

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: London

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 9,093

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Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

similar to a docker container

Very much so, yes — the Windows kernel provides interfaces for the Linux programs to use (but not all Linux syscalls are available).

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mynis

Member

Registered: 2018-01-29

Posts: 12

Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

This is super cool. I had played around with using Debian/WSL with xMing and then installing the BunsenLabs repos on top if it but this XRDP solution looks a lot cleaner. Do you think it would be possible to get BunsenLabs included in the Windows App Store at some point?

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: London

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 9,093

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Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

Do you think it would be possible to get BunsenLabs included in the Windows App Store at some point?

That sounds sufficiently perverse that I may take an interest (once the Helium release is out, ofc).

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cloverskull

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Registered: 2015-10-01

Posts: 348

Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

I'd be reluctant to offer a ton of support, though...WSL seems relatively hacked together.

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: London

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 9,093

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Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

^ They'll love me then

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ohnonot

...again

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 5,592

Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

That sounds sufficiently perverse that I may take an interest

good news everyone...8)

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: London

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 9,093

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Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

^ It's funny 'cos it's true...

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DeepDayze

Like sands through an hourglass...

From: In Linux Land

Registered: 2017-05-28

Posts: 1,901

Re: BunsenLabs on Windows 10 through the Windows Subsystem for Linux

Damn...that sure looks cool, and I just might futz with WSL/BunsenLabs on my Win10 partition. Thanks Cloverskull for the how-to. I believe future WSL updates will allow us to pretty much allow a full blown Linux experience under WSL.

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