How to install kvm on windows

How to Install KVM on Windows 11

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps to install KVM on your Windows 11 machine. KVM is a popular hypervisor that allows you to run multiple virtual machines on a single host machine.

Here are the steps to install KVM on Windows 11:

1. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that your computer supports virtualization. To check virtualization support, you can download and run the Intel Processor Identification Utility or the AMD Virtualization Compatibility Check Utility.
2. Once you have confirmed that your computer supports virtualization, the next step is to enable it from your computer’s BIOS settings. The process to access BIOS settings can vary depending on the manufacturer, but generally, you need to press a specific key during startup to access the BIOS settings.
3. After accessing the BIOS settings, navigate to the «CPU» or «Security» section and enable virtualization support.
4. Once you have enabled virtualization support, the next step is to download and install a KVM package for Windows. You can download the KVM package from http://www.linux-kvm.org.
5. Extract the downloaded KVM package to a location of your choice.
6. After extracting the KVM package, navigate to the extracted folder and run the «virtmgmt.msc» file. This will open the Virtual Machine Manager console.
7. In the Virtual Machine Manager console, click on «New Virtual Machine» to create a new virtual machine.
8. Follow the prompts to configure your virtual machine settings, including assigning memory, storage, and CPU resources.
9. Once you have configured your virtual machine settings, click on «Create» to create your virtual machine.
10. Finally, start your virtual machine and install your preferred operating system.

Congratulations! You have now installed KVM on your Windows 11 machine and created a virtual machine. You can now use KVM to run multiple virtual machines on your Windows 11 host machine.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!

LINUX

Setting up a Windows 10 virtual machine (VM) using KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and QEMU (Quick Emulator) can seem like a daunting task if you’re new to virtualization. However, with the right guidance and tools, you can create a powerful and efficient virtual environment. This article provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to help you successfully set up a KVM/QEMU Windows 10 VM on a Linux host.

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites

2. Installing KVM and QEMU

3. Configuring KVM

4. Downloading Windows 10 ISO

5. Creating a Windows 10 VM

6. Installing Windows 10 on the VM

7. Optimizing Your Windows 10 VM

8. Common Troubleshooting Tips

9. Conclusion

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

• A Linux host operating system (Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, etc.)

• At least 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended) and sufficient disk space (at least 20 GB for the Windows VM)

• Administrative access to install packages and configure settings

• Basic knowledge of command-line operations

Installing KVM and QEMU

Step 1: Check if your CPU supports virtualization

Run the following command to check if your CPU supports virtualization:

egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

A value greater than 0 indicates your CPU can support KVM.

Step 2: Install KVM and QEMU

For Ubuntu, use these commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon-system libvirt-clients bridge-utils virt-manager

For CentOS, run:

sudo yum install qemu-kvm libvirt libvirt-python libguestfs-tools virt-manager

After the installation, confirm that the KVM modules are loaded:

Step 3: Add your user to the KVM group

Make sure your user account has the necessary permissions:

sudo usermod -aG kvm $USER

Log out and back in for the changes to take effect.

Configuring KVM

Enable the libvirt service to allow managing VMs seamlessly:

sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd

Check the status of the libvirt service:

sudo systemctl status libvirtd

Downloading Windows 10 ISO

1. Visit the official Microsoft website.

2. Download the Windows 10 disk image (ISO file).

3. Make sure to save the ISO in a directory accessible to your virtual machine.

Creating a Windows 10 VM

Step 1: Create a disk image for the VM

Run the following command to create a virtual disk image for your Windows 10 installation:

qemu-img create -f qcow2 ~/win10.img 50G

This command creates a 50 GB disk image named win10.img in your home directory.

Step 2: Use virt-install to create the VM

You can launch a new VM using virt-install, specifying the appropriate parameters:

virt-install \
    --name win10 \
    --ram 4096 \
    --disk path=~/win10.img,size=50 \
    --vcpus 2 \
    --os-type windows \
    --os-variant win10 \
    --network network=default \
    --graphics vnc \
    --cdrom /path/to/windows10.iso

Explanation of parameters:

• --name: Name of the VM (Windows 10).

• --ram: Amount of RAM assigned to the VM.

• --disk: Path and size of the virtual disk.

• --vcpus: Number of virtual CPUs to allocate.

• --os-type: Operating system type.

• --os-variant: Optimization specifics for the OS version.

• --network: Networking mode; typically, the default network.

• --graphics: Graphics display type (VNC in this example).

• --cdrom: Path to the Windows 10 ISO.

Step 3: Access the VM

Once the VM has been created, access it using a VNC viewer, or use virt-manager for a graphical interface:

Select your VM and open the console to start the installation process.

Installing Windows 10 on the VM

Follow the on-screen instructions once the Windows 10 installer loads:

1. Choose the language, time, and keyboard preferences.

2. Select “Install Now.”

3. Enter the product key (if required) or select “I don’t have a product key”.

4. Choose the “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)” option.

5. Select the virtual disk (unallocated space) for installation.

After the installation completes, you will need to go through Windows setup (user accounts, privacy settings, etc.).

Optimizing Your Windows 10 VM

After installing Windows 10, optimizing the performance of your VM is crucial. Here are some tips:

• Install VirtIO Drivers: For better disk and network performance, install the VirtIO drivers. Download the drivers from the Fedora Project site and load them during Windows setup.

• Adjust Resource Allocation: Use virt-manager to fine-tune the RAM and CPU allocation based on your use-case.

• Disable Unnecessary Services: Inside Windows, you can disable services that are not needed for your specific tasks.

Common Troubleshooting Tips

• Boot Issues: If the VM fails to boot, double-check that the ISO is correctly attached to the VM and verify the disk settings.

• Network Issues: Ensure that your network settings in virt-manager or when using virt-install correctly link to an active network bridge.

• No VNC Connection: If you can’t connect via VNC, ensure that your VNC viewer is correctly configured and the firewall rules on the host allow VNC connections.

Conclusion

Setting up a KVM/QEMU Windows 10 VM can greatly enhance your productivity by allowing you to run Windows applications seamlessly on a Linux host. By following the steps outlined above, you will have a fully functional Windows 10 environment optimized for performance.

If you encounter issues during the setup or have specific questions, the virtualization community is robust and finding help online is just a search away. Happy virtualizing!

Suggested Articles

Installing Virt-Manager on Windows 10 is not like any other application method because it is a Linux program and is meant to manage Linux-running virtual machines. However, don’t forget we have a Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10, thus it is quite possible to run the GUI interface of Virt-Manager on Windows like any other application. Here are the steps to follow…

Virt-Manager is an open-source app that provides a graphical user interface to command line Type 1 hypervisor platforms such as Qemu, KVM, and Xen.

1. Enable WSL – Windows 10 subsystem for Linux

The steps given here are straightforward, however, before following them make sure on your Windows 10, you have WSL enabled and have at least Ubuntu 20.04 or 18.04 LTS version running over it. If you don’t know how to do that then see our tutorial on how to enable WSL and install Ubuntu over it.

2. Download and install MobaXterm

MobaXterm is a free application that provides a wide range of tools and server services to make the job of developers and administrators a lot easier. In short, it is an enhanced terminal for Windows with an X11 server, tabbed SSH client, network tools, and much more. Here is the link to download the MobaXterm home edition. After downloading, install it like any other normal Windows software.

3. Open MobaXterm and run WSL Linux

As you open this advanced terminal for Windows 10, the WSL-installed Ubuntu app will show on the left side panel of it. Double-click on that to start the WSL session.

Картинка с сайта: linux.how2shout.com

2. Install Virt-Manager

Once you have started the WSL on your Windows 10 installed MobaXterm, the next thing is to run the Ubuntu system update command.

sudo apt update

After that in the command line terminal of Linux, simply run the Virt-Manager installation command as we do on any regular Linux distro of Debian.

sudo apt install virt-manager

3. Run Virt-Manager GUI on Windows 10

Everything is ready, we already have our Linux Virtual Machine Manager installed on Windows 10 WSL, so it’s time to open its GUI interface. For that run:

sudo virt-manager

Note: Remember the Graphical user interface of applications installed on Linux can only be accessed on MobaXterm, directly on WSL  1, it is not possible because of no X server availability.

Картинка с сайта: linux.how2shout.com

4. Connect Remote KVM on Virt- Manager

As we cannot install KVM on the Windows platform, thus obviously the reason for using this Linux Virtual Machine manager is to connect some remote Linux server running with KVM. Therefore, click on the File menu of Virt-Manager and select “New Connection“.

Then check “Connect to a remote host over SSH” and enter the user and hostname of the remote KVM server you want to connect.

Картинка с сайта: linux.how2shout.com

5. Start managing KVM Virtual Machines

Once connected, you will have the list of Virtual machines running on remote KVM on Windows 10 running Virt-Manager. Now, you can directly control or view them.

Картинка с сайта: linux.how2shout.com

Other Tutorials:

• How to use Virt-Manager GUI to manage Multipass Ubuntu VMs
• How to install GUI File Manager Nautilus on WSL -Windows 10 Subsystem for Linux
• How to enable WSL 2 Windows 10 Subsystem for Linux