WSL2, WSA or Docker won't start

Symptom

The wsl command fails instead of starting Linux, Docker Desktop reports that virtualization or Hyper-V is unavailable, and Android apps and the Android Studio emulator do not start.

Typical causes

Virtualization components — Hyper-V and related — are disabled by an “optimizer”, a tweak pack, or corrupted after a failed Windows update. Without them, WSL2, WSA and Docker cannot start their virtual machines. Virtualization is also used by the security subsystem: how it relates to BoosterX settings is described in the article “VBS (Virtualization Based Security)”.

Fix in BoosterX

1. Open BoosterX → the “Fixes” section (in the left menu).
2. In the search, type “Linux”.
3. Open the “Linux (WSL2), WSA (Android Studio), Docker” card and click “Fix”.
4. Restart Windows.

The fix restores Hyper-V and enables the Windows components required for WSL to work. BoosterX can be downloaded from the official website boosterx.org.

How to verify

Open a terminal and run wsl — the Linux console should open. Then launch Docker Desktop and the Android app: both environments should start without virtualization errors.

Manual alternative without BoosterX

Open Control Panel → Programs → Programs and Features → Turn Windows features on or off and check “Windows Subsystem for Linux” and “Virtual Machine Platform”; on editions where it is available, also “Hyper-V”. Click OK, wait for the components to install and restart the PC. Then run wsl --update in the terminal to update the WSL kernel.

If it did not help

If Windows reports that virtualization is disabled, check that it is enabled in BIOS/UEFI. Next, look at Windows Event Viewer entries that match the time of the error — incident analysis is helped by EventX. If the BoosterX fix did not help or the problem returned, write to support and attach the error text.

Last checked: 2026-09-20. Full catalog of fixes.