Use qemu-img in your terminal to create the disk (e.g., 40GB): qemu-img create -f qcow2 windows81.qcow2 40G Use code with caution. -f qcow2 : Specifies the format. windows81.qcow2 : The name of the file. 40G : The maximum size of the virtual disk 1.2.4 . Step 2: Set Up the Virtual Machine (Virt-Manager) Using makes the process user-friendly: Open Virt-Manager and create a new Virtual Machine.
Select the driver and click Next .
When the Windows 8.1 installer boots, it will prompt you to select an installation destination. Due to the high-performance virtio bus selection, Follow these steps to expose your QCOW2 disk: Click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) .
Note: If the Windows installer does not see the hard drive, use the "Load Driver"
Note: This creates a dynamically expanding 40 GB virtual disk named windows81.qcow2 . Step 2: Download the VirtIO Drivers
Once Windows 8.1 is running, you must install the remaining drivers for the network and system integration: Windows 8.1 support ended on January 10, 2023
Once QEMU launches, you'll see the Windows installer. Follow these steps:
Select the driver and click Next .
Important flags explained:
In Proxmox or virt-manager, set "Write back" as the cache option for the best performance.
Click and navigate to the secondary CD-ROM drive containing the VirtIO drivers.
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.
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