Once the Windows 10 desktop environment loads for the first time, complete the infrastructure setup by installing the remaining paravirtualized drivers.
QCOW2 is the default disk image format for the QEMU emulator and is a successor to the earlier QCOW format. It is a sophisticated format that stores the entire state of a virtual hard drive, including the operating system, applications, and user data.
: You can compress the image to save additional disk space. Common Management Tasks 1. Shrinking (Sparsifying) the File
Open your Linux terminal and use the qemu-img command to create a dynamically expanding virtual disk. Allocate at least 40 GB to accommodate Windows 10 and future updates: qemu-img create -f qcow2 windows10.qcow2 40G Use code with caution. Step 2: Initialize the VM Installation via CLI Windows 10.qcow2
Shut down the virtual machine completely. Run the qemu-img convert command to read the original file, strip out the zeroed-out blocks, and write a compacted, distributable QCOW2 file.
This reduces a 60GB virtual footprint down to a highly portable file, often smaller than 15GB. Troubleshooting Common Issues 1. Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on Boot
qemu-img snapshot -c snap1 windows10.qcow2 qemu-img snapshot -l windows10.qcow2 qemu-img snapshot -a snap1 windows10.qcow2 Once the Windows 10 desktop environment loads for
qemu-system-x86_64 \ -drive file=windows10.qcow2,format=qcow2 \ -cdrom windows10.iso \ -boot d \ -m 4G \ -cpu host \ -smp 4 \ -vga qxl \ -net nic -net user
Virtualization relies heavily on efficiency, speed, and portability. For administrators and developers working with Kernel-based Virtual Machines (KVM) and Quick Emulator (QEMU), the file format is an essential asset.
$ qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm ...
After Windows 10 boots successfully, the VirtIO drivers must be properly installed for the rest of the hardware (network, ballooning, etc.). Insert the VirtIO driver CD by right-clicking on the ISO file in the VM's virtual drive and selecting "Eject". Then, attach the virtio-win.iso file again. Windows should automatically install most drivers, but it is recommended to manually run the installer from the CD-ROM to ensure everything is installed.
For libvirt (virt-manager), edit the VM XML:
qemu-img convert -p -f vmdk -O qcow2 existing_windows10.vmdk win10_from_vmware.qcow2 : You can compress the image to save additional disk space