This command tells QEMU to use win98.qcow2 as the hard drive, win98.iso as the CD-ROM, and to boot from the CD-ROM ( -boot d ). This is the simplest way to start the installation process.
qemu-system-x86_64 -m 2048 -enable-kvm -vga cirrus -device rtl8139 -hda windows98.qcow2
First, generate a virtual hard drive. A size between is standard. Windows 98 may have issues with disks larger than 2 GB unless you specifically enable large disk support during the FDISK process. qemu-img create -f qcow2 win98.qcow2 2G Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard 2. Launch the Installation windows 98 qcow2
qemu-system-i386 -m 256 -drive file=win98.qcow2,if=ide,index=0,media=disk \ -cdrom win98_install.iso -boot d -rtc base=localtime \ -soundhw sb16 -vga cirrus -net nic,model=rtl8139 -net user
Qcow2 (QEMU Copy-on-Write) is a virtual disk image format used by the QEMU emulator. It's a popular format for virtual machines (VMs) because it's flexible, efficient, and supports a wide range of operating systems. Qcow2 images can be easily created, modified, and converted to other formats, making it a versatile choice for virtualization. This command tells QEMU to use win98
: If you are on a Linux host, adding -enable-kvm significantly speeds up the VM, but it can sometimes cause stability issues with Windows 9x.
If you have a Windows 98 VM or image in another format (like VMDK or raw), you can convert it to QCOW2: A size between is standard
qemu-system-i386 -hda windows98.qcow2 -cdrom /dev/cdrom -m 256