: Essential for Windows to recognize virtualized disks and network interfaces effectively. These can be obtained from projects like the Fedora VirtIO-Win repository. Super User 3. Launch the Installation
On the blank drive selection screen, click in the lower-left corner.
Installing Windows 8.1 to a QCOW2 image is a robust method for creating a scalable, snapshot-capable virtual machine. The critical success factor is the integration of during the setup phase. While Windows 8.1 is aging, the QCOW2 format ensures that the storage overhead remains minimal and allows for easy backup through snapshotting.
qemu-img convert -f vmdk -O qcow2 Windows8.1.vmdk windows81.qcow2 windows 81 qcow2 install
Already have a VirtualBox VDI or VMware VMDK of Windows 8.1? Convert it.
The installer will list the . Click Next to load it.
Point the search path to your VirtIO CD-ROM drive and check the box for Include subfolders . Click to install the NetKVM driver. Graphics Driver (QXLDOD) : Essential for Windows to recognize virtualized disks
qemu-system-x86_64 \ -enable-kvm \ -m 8G \ -smp 4 \ -cpu host \ -drive file=/path/win8.1.qcow2,if=virtio,cache=none,format=qcow2 \ -cdrom /path/Win8.1.iso \ -drive file=/path/virtio-win.iso,if=cdrom \ -netdev user,id=net0 -device virtio-net-pci,netdev=net0 \ -vga qxl -spice port=5930,disable-ticketing \ -boot d
Note: After resizing, extend the partition inside Windows using Disk Management.
Some cloud providers and open-source projects offer ready-to-run QCOW2 images for legal evaluation. The most official source is (Windows 8.1 VMs for browser testing). However, those are usually in VHDX or VMDK format—convertible to QCOW2. Launch the Installation On the blank drive selection
The QCOW2 format allocates physical host storage only as data is written inside the virtual machine.
For direct execution via terminal, use the following template. Note that we attach both the Windows 8.1 setup media and the VirtIO driver disc simultaneously.
qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -m 4096 -smp cpus=2,cores=2 \ -cpu host,hv_relaxed,hv_spinlocks=0x1fff,hv_vapic,hv_time \ -drive file=win81.qcow2,if=virtio,format=qcow2 \ -net nic,model=virtio -net user \ -cdrom /path/to/windows_8.1.iso \ -drive file=/path/to/virtio-win.iso,media=cdrom,index=1 \ -rtc base=localtime,clock=host \ -vga qxl -device virtio-serial-pci \ -usb -device usb-tablet Use code with caution.