if=virtio : Tells the VM to use high-performance paravirtualized drivers for the disk.
qemu-system-x86_64 -m 4 G -cpu host -enable-kvm \ -drive file=windows81.qcow2,format=qcow2,if=virtio \ -cdrom /path/to/windows_8.1.iso \ -drive file=/path/to/virtio-win.iso,index=3,media=cdrom \ -net nic,model=virtio -net user \ -vga qxl -usb -device usb-tablet Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard 4. Running the Setup windows 81 qcow2 install
After Windows 8.1 finishes installing and boots to the desktop, open . There will likely be "Unknown Devices" for network and graphics. Right-click each, select Update Driver , and point them to your VirtIO ISO to install the remaining high-performance drivers. if=virtio : Tells the VM to use high-performance
Are you setting this up for a or legacy software testing ? Share public link Running the Setup After Windows 8
Hyper-V enlightenments are a set of optimizations that reduce the overhead of running Windows as a guest OS. For Windows 8.1, you can add these flags to your qemu-system-x86_64 command:
Note: Setting if=virtio on the QCOW2 drive ensures maximum disk performance, but it hides the drive from the initial Windows installer until drivers are loaded. ⏱️ Step-by-Step Installation Guide Step 1: Start Windows Setup Boot the virtual machine. Press any key to boot from the CD/DVD. Select your language, time, and keyboard preferences. Click . Enter your product key or select your target edition. Accept the license terms. Choose Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) . Step 2: Load the VirtIO Storage Driver