virt-install \ --name=Windows10_VM \ --ram=4096 \ --vcpus=2 \ --cpu host-passthrough \ --os-variant=win10 \ --disk path=/var/lib/libvirt/images/win10.qcow2,format=qcow2,bus=virtio,cache=none,io=native \ --disk path=/path/to/windows10.iso,device=cdrom \ --disk path=/path/to/virtio-win.iso,device=cdrom \ --network network=default,model=virtio \ --graphics spice,listen=0.0.0.0 \ --boot uefi Use code with caution. Step 3: Load Drivers inside the Windows Installer
Allows creating multiple linked VMs from one master image, saving massive amounts of storage. windows 10qcow2
The qemu-img tool is your command center for managing your qcow2 images. Other Formats RAW (
Disable Cortana, background telemetry, and cloud consumer features within the Windows 10 Group Policy Editor. Ensure the QEMU Guest Agent service is installed and running inside the guest OS. Summary Matrix: QCOW2 vs. Other Formats RAW ( .img / .raw ) VMDK (VMware) Allocation Dynamic (Thin) Thick (Pre-allocated) Dynamic or Thick Performance High (Optimized) Maximum (Native) Moderate on KVM Native Snapshots Host System Compatibility QEMU, KVM, Proxmox VMware, VirtualBox Conclusion Step 2: The VirtIO Driver Requirement
To install Windows 10 on a QEMU/KVM hypervisor, you must first create an empty QCOW2 virtual disk. This is done via the command line interface using the qemu-img tool. Command Line Allocation
When the Windows 10 setup wizard asks "Where do you want to install Windows?", the drive list will be completely blank. This is expected because Windows cannot see the VirtIO virtual hard drive yet. Click .
Note: Windows 10 requires a absolute minimum of 32 GB, but 60 GB or more is highly recommended for standard software updates and pagefile space. Step 2: The VirtIO Driver Requirement