WSL Sparse does not work at all.

[PeterTucker]

Windows Version

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.4894]

WSL Version

2.2.4.0

Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?

• [X] WSL 2
• [ ] WSL 1

Kernel Version

5.15.153.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2

Distro Version

Ubuntu 22.04

Other Software

No response

Repro Steps

Sparse does not work.

Ubuntu disk space (.vhdx file) shows 118gbs in windows 10. In Ubuntu: /ncdu / --exclude /mnt shows 64gbs

Powershell(admin): notepad "$env:USERPROFILE/.wslconfig" .wslconfig:

[experimental]
sparseVhd=true

Powershell(admin):

wsl --list # list distros
wsl --manage <distro> --set-sparse true # enable sparse on vdisk
wsl --shutdown # restart wsl
wsl # restart wsl 

Then when I check the size, it has not changed at all, still 118gbs.

SOLUTION (MANUAL SHRINKING):

for anyone who finds this in the future. Here is a way to resize the disk manually.

Powershell (admin):

FIRST BACKUP YOUR VHDX FILE
wsl --list # list distros
wsl --shutdown # Be patient and wait a bit for wsl to shutdown. It will eventually shutdown.
wsl --manage <DISTRO_NAME> --set-sparse false
optimize-vhd -Path "<VHDX_FILE>" -Mode full
wsl --manage <DISTRO_NAME> --set-sparse true

Then test if the VHDX file (wiztree) has shrunk and your distro can run.

Expected Behavior

Reclaim disk space in Windows 10.

Actual Behavior

The sparseVhd setting does not reclaim disk space in Windows 10.

Diagnostic Logs

No response

[github-actions[bot]]

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View similar issues

Please view the issues below to see if they solve your problem, and if the issue describes your problem please consider closing this one and thumbs upping the other issue to help us prioritize it!

Open similar issues:

• wsl --manage Alpine --set-sparse true # No result for auto disk space clean up (Set sparse VHD) (#10703), similarity score: 0.80
• Using the SparseVhd option causes High CPU, RAM, and Disk usage (#10991), similarity score: 0.73

Closed similar issues:

• The ext4.vhdx file size grew too fast than actual use（swap or caches） (#8695), similarity score: 0.73
• WSL2 distro rapidly expands to fill drive without using space and cannot be shrunk (#8226), similarity score: 0.72
• The WSL 2 ext4.vhdx file keeps growing for no good reason (#10353), similarity score: 0.71

Note: You can give me feedback by thumbs upping or thumbs downing this comment.

[PeterTucker]

/question

[PeterTucker]

Why does it not work?

[github-actions[bot]]

Diagnostic information

``` Found '/question', adding tag 'question' ```

[elsaco]

@PeterTucker after wsl --manage <DISTRO_NAME> --set-sparse false do a wsl --shutdown again, and it should work.

Notice the FileSize before and after running the command:

PS C:\Users\elsaco> Get-VHD -Path "G:\vms\sid\ext4.vhdx"

ComputerName            : ELEVEN
Path                    : G:\vms\sid\ext4.vhdx
VhdFormat               : VHDX
VhdType                 : Dynamic
FileSize                : 1081081856
Size                    : 549453824000
MinimumSize             :
LogicalSectorSize       : 512
PhysicalSectorSize      : 4096
BlockSize               : 1048576
ParentPath              :
DiskIdentifier          : 40545B0A-6EE6-483B-AE7D-B64B4EF39DB1
FragmentationPercentage : 100
Alignment               : 1
Attached                : False
DiskNumber              :
IsPMEMCompatible        : False
AddressAbstractionType  : None
Number                  :

PS C:\Users\elsaco> Optimize-VHD -Path "G:\vms\sid\ext4.vhdx" -Mode full
PS C:\Users\elsaco> Get-VHD -Path "G:\vms\sid\ext4.vhdx"

ComputerName            : ELEVEN
Path                    : G:\vms\sid\ext4.vhdx
VhdFormat               : VHDX
VhdType                 : Dynamic
FileSize                : 1067450368
Size                    : 549453824000
MinimumSize             :
LogicalSectorSize       : 512
PhysicalSectorSize      : 4096
BlockSize               : 1048576
ParentPath              :
DiskIdentifier          : 40545B0A-6EE6-483B-AE7D-B64B4EF39DB1
FragmentationPercentage : 100
Alignment               : 1
Attached                : False
DiskNumber              :
IsPMEMCompatible        : False
AddressAbstractionType  : None
Number