Recovering a Broken WSL Distribution with Safe Mode and the Debug Shell
Separate VM startup, distribution boot, systemd, fstab, and shell failures without deleting the distribution.
Export the distribution before invasive repair if it still responds. Check wsl --status, version, and whether another distro starts. If only one fails, suspect its /etc/fstab, /etc/wsl.conf, systemd units, default user, shell, or filesystem.
Use the currently documented safe-mode or --debug-shell feature where available; enterprise policy may disable it. Repair the smallest bad configuration, then wsl --shutdown and retest normal boot. Do not unregister the distribution unless a verified export exists—unregistering deletes its data.
Sources: WSL troubleshooting, WSL commands