qemu-img convert -O qcow2 Windows10_InsiderPreview_Client_ARM64_en-us_21354.VHDX Windows10.qcow2
A QCOW2 image dynamically grows as Windows writes data. A 64GB virtual hard drive might only take up 12GB of physical space on your host machine initially.
Running Windows 10 ARM out of a QCOW2 container requires a few final adjustments to unlock smooth graphical performance and stability. Install the Remaining VirtIO Drivers
Once you boot into the Windows desktop, open . You will notice several system components marked with yellow warning triangles. windows 10 arm qcow2
By default, QEMU uses TCG (Tiny Code Generator), which emulates guest CPU instructions entirely in software and can be painfully slow. For acceptable performance, you MUST enable hardware acceleration:
Use cache=writeback in your QEMU configuration for better disk performance.
In the context of Windows 10 ARM, a qcow2 file is the virtual hard disk that houses the operating system, applications, and user data. Install the Remaining VirtIO Drivers Once you boot
qemu-img convert -f vhdx -O qcow2 Windows10_ARM64.vhdx windows10_arm.qcow2 Use code with caution. Creating a Blank QCOW2 Image for ISO Installation
Browse your secondary CD-ROM drive ( virtio-win ). Navigate to NetKVM\w10\ARM64 and viostor\w10\ARM64 .
: Set the QEMU disk cache mode to none or writeback depending on your host's power reliability. none offers the best blend of performance and safety by bypassing the host OS cache. Unlike raw .img or .vhd files
Here's a foundational command to boot and install Windows 10 ARM:
qemu-system-aarch64 -M virt,highmem=off -cpu host -accel hvf -m 4G -drive file=win10arm.qcow2,format=qcow2 -device virtio-net-pci,netdev=net0 -netdev user,id=net0
Windows 10 ARM features the WOW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) emulation layer. This allows the OS to run legacy x86 (32-bit) applications seamlessly. By running Windows 10 ARM inside a QCOW2 image on an ARM Linux host (like Ubuntu on a Raspberry Pi or Asahi Linux on a Mac), you gain:
A crucial part of this setup is using QCOW2, which stands for "QEMU Copy On Write". This is the preferred virtual disk format for this guide because its "Copy on Write" mechanism allows you to create snapshots, saving and reverting to specific VM states. The ability to create snapshots is particularly valuable during installation or when testing new configurations.
Unlike raw .img or .vhd files, a qcow2 disk grows dynamically. A fresh Windows 10 ARM installation might report 20GB used inside the guest, but the actual host qcow2 file could be as small as 5–7GB. This makes it perfect for:
