Failed to start workload
Fix the "Failed to start workload" Degraded State notification (errors -1, -4, -5, -7, -10), where the container environment runs but a job can't be downloaded or started.
What it means. Your container environment is up, but a job couldn't be downloaded (-4) or started (-1, -5, -7, -10). The error number tells you which half failed.
Error -4: the job couldn't be downloaded
The job's files come from Salad's image registries. A download that never finishes or keeps restarting is almost always a network path problem on the PC rather than the app. Go to Downloads slow or failing.
Errors -1, -5, -7, -10: the job downloaded but wouldn't start
By far the most common cause is the GPU driver. Container jobs reach your card through your normal Windows NVIDIA driver; if that driver is damaged, only half-updated, or temporarily lost by WSL, the job fails at start with "-1" or "-7" even though games run fine. The second most common cause is a program that already has the GPU.
Check whether the container environment can see your GPU
In PowerShell (no admin):
wsl -d salad-enterprise-linux --exec /usr/lib/wsl/lib/nvidia-smiA table listing your card means the driver link works - skip to step 3. An error means the environment has lost the card: continue with step 2.
Restart the container environment, then reinstall the driver
Exit Salad from the tray icon, run wsl --shutdown in PowerShell, and start Salad again. If the error returns, do a
clean reinstall of the NVIDIA driver: How to reinstall your GPU drivers
(choose Perform a clean installation), then reboot.
Free the GPU
Close games, local AI tools (Ollama, LM Studio, Stable Diffusion), video editors and mining software outside Salad. If you have two dedicated GPUs, only one can earn; disable the other in Salad under Settings > Configure Hardware (why).
Docker Desktop: turn off Resource Saver
If Docker Desktop is installed, its Resource Saver setting pauses the WSL machinery Salad relies on. Open Docker Desktop > Settings > Resources and disable Resource Saver.
Update WSL and retry
As Administrator: wsl --update, then wsl --shutdown, then start Salad and leave it for 30-40 minutes so it can
download and start a job.
Last resort: reinstall Salad
Uninstall Salad, reboot, reinstall from salad.com/download. Do this only after the steps above - it doesn't touch the driver, which is usually the cause.
Still stuck?
Send Salad Support the notification screenshot with the error number, the output of the nvidia-smi command
from step 1, and your logs folder zipped (how to find it).
Last updated on
Failed to start container environment
Fix Degraded State errors -2 and -3, where Salad's Linux container environment can't be imported into WSL or its service won't start.
Salad cannot access your GPU
Fix Degraded State errors 11, 12, 19, 21 and 22 ("Salad cannot access your GPU", "GPU drivers out of date"): the GPU isn't usable from inside the container environment.