Mounting Physical Linux Disks in WSL 2 Without Damaging Them
A safe model for wsl --mount, Windows disk ownership, filesystem support, read-only inspection, and clean detachment.
Identify the disk in Windows and back up irreplaceable data. The disk cannot be simultaneously mounted for normal Windows use and handed to WSL. Start with read-only access when investigating an unknown or damaged filesystem.
Use the current wsl --mount syntax for the disk, partition, and filesystem documented by Microsoft. Verify the device from Linux before writing. Filesystems requiring unavailable kernel modules or encryption tooling need a different recovery environment.
Close processes, unmount inside Linux, then detach with the supported WSL command before unplugging hardware. Never guess a disk number from size alone.
Sources: Mount a Linux disk in WSL 2, WSL commands