After this operation, the .qcow2 file will only occupy space for the actual data blocks, not the entire provisioned disk size.
Here's a breakdown of the options used:
Run the QEMU command to boot from your Windows 8.1 ISO and attach the new disk. Arch Linux Forums Basic Command qemu-system-x86_64 -m
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: Once the "Red Hat VirtIO SCSI pass-through controller" appears, select it. Your qcow2 disk should now be visible for partitioning. 4. Post-Install Optimization
qemu-system-x86_64 -hda win81.qcow2 -cdrom /path/to/your/windows8.1.iso -boot d -accel kvm -cpu host -m 4G -vga std -net nic,model=e1000 -net user -usbdevice tablet -rtc base=localtime
Execute the following QEMU command to boot the virtual machine: After this operation, the
Create your QCOW2 image via the terminal for maximum control:
This command modifies the original image file directly, which is useful when storage space is limited.
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qemu-img create -f qcow2 win81-disk.qcow2 60G
1 GHz or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2 (Hardware virtualization VT-x/AMD-V must be enabled in your host BIOS). RAM: 2 GB (for 64-bit) allocated to the guest OS.
for the disk and network to work correctly during or after the installation. 1. Preparation Windows 8.1 ISO : You can still download the installation media from the Official Microsoft Windows 8.1 Download Page VirtIO Drivers : Download the latest stable virtio-win.iso Fedora Project VirtIO-Win repository to ensure your virtual hardware is recognized. 2. Create the QCOW2 Disk
Open your terminal and run the following command to create a 40 GB virtual disk: qemu-img create -f qcow2 windows81.qcow2 40G Use code with caution. -f qcow2 : Specifies the target disk format. windows81.qcow2 : The filename of your virtual disk. 40G : The maximum storage capacity allocated for the drive. Step 2: Launch the QEMU/KVM Virtual Machine