Bitberry File Opener, a best-in-class file handling tool for Windows, enables you to extract content from QCOW2 files on your PC.
Supported .QCOW2 file format
QEMU Copy On Write v2 Disk Image File
For Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11
Step 1: Download and install
Download Bitberry File Opener
The first step is to download the setup program. It contains everything you need to handle QCOW2 files. There are no 3rd-party dependencies.
Run the setup program
Once downloaded, double-click the file (usually named BitberryFileOpenerSetup.exe) to start the installation process. This is a one-time thing.
Step 2: Select your QCOW2 file
Use the File menu
Run Bitberry File Opener and select Open from the File menu to select your file.
Use drag and drop
You can also drag your file and drop it on the Bitberry File Opener window to open it.
Double-click the file
You can associate Bitberry File Opener with any supported file type so they open when you double-click them.
Extract QEMU Copy On Write v2 Disk Image files
Browse the content of your .QCOW2 file
Browse files and folders of your QEMU Copy On Write v2 Disk Image files in Windows Explorer-style.
Extract files from .QCOW2 archives
Select everything, or individual files or folders, and extract them. This restores the files in the QCOW2 archive to their original uncompressed format, ready for you to use.
Feature overview
You are welcome to use the software without a license for as long as you like, for personal tasks at home. Any other use requires a license. The free version has certain limitations — a license is needed to unlock them.
| Feature | Free | Licensed |
|---|---|---|
| Any kind of use that is not personal and at home | ||
| View 8 document formats including Adobe PDF, and edit Microsoft Word documents | ||
| View and edit 127 kinds of image formats, including many legacy formats | ||
| View dozens of digital camera RAW picture formats | ||
| Play any audio format imaginable, including many legacy formats — 72 in total | ||
| Watch videos in 115 formats ranging from HD videos to obscure legacy formats | ||
| Open and browse content in 55 types of archive and compressed files | ||
| Open and browse content in 2 types of encoded files | ||
| Open and edit 3 types of spreadsheet files, including from Microsoft Excel | ||
| Open email attachments in winmail.dat format | ||
| Preview the style of 6 different types of font files | ||
| View the content of 17 text based file formats | ||
| Save files, including attachments from winmail.dat files, and edited images, spreadsheets, and documents | ||
| Extract content from archives, compressed- and encoded files | ||
| Print documents, images, and spreadsheets | ||
| Convert images to other formats like JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PSD, etc. | ||
| Copy text from documents, data from spreadsheets, and images to the clipboard | ||
| File viewing without license reminders |
The free version of Bitberry File Opener lets you open all supported file formats with no time limits. Free to use forever for personal tasks at home. There are several limitations in the free version, but all supported file types can be opened so you can try it on your files.
QCOW2
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File type:
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Developer:
David T Reynolds
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Popularity:
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How to open QCOW2 file?
After double-clicking on the unknown file icon, the system should open it in the default software that supports it. If this does not happen, download and install the Qemu Manager software and then manually associate the file with it.
Step 1. Download and install Qemu Manager
If there is no Qemu Manager or similar software in the system that supports files with the QCOW2 extension, you must first download and install it. Below you will find a list of the most-used applications that work with QCOW2. After going to the subpage of the program you will find a link to the developer’s website, where you can safely download the software installer.
Programs that open files QCOW2
Step 2. Associate Qemu Manager with the QCOW2 file extension
If the user already has one of the applications installed, the next step will be to associate it with the file extension QCOW2. This can be done in two ways — one is to manually edit the Windows Registry and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT keys. The second way is simpler and definitely recommended for less advanced users.
- Right click on the unknown QCOW2 file you want to open
- Select «Open with» from the menu
- Click «Choose another application»
- Click «More applications»
- Click «Find more applications on this PC» and indicate the installation location of the appropriate program
- Finally, select the «Always use the selected program to open QCOW2 files» option and confirm the whole operation.
Remember! Manually editing the system registry is only recommended for advanced users, and changes made to it without proper knowledge may result in damage to the system.
Step 3. Check out other possible problems related to QCOW2 files.
Sometimes it happens that despite having the right application and the correct configuration, there are still problems with opening the QCOW2 files. You should then find out what is the reason of the problem.
- Check if the QCOW2 file is not infected — When the file QCOW2 is infected with a virus or malware, it probably will not be able to be opened correctly. In this case, scan the QCOW2 file and take the actions recommended by the antivirus program installed on the system. Most often it is disinfection or deletion of an infected file.
- Check if you, as the operating system user, have appropriate permissions to work with the file QCOW2
- Check if the icon is an element of the correct file but not only a shortcut to the location where the QCOW2 file no longer exists.
- Check that the system has the necessary resources to run the Qemu Manager application and open the QCOW2 file.
- Check if the file is complete — Sometimes it happens that the QCOW2 file was not copied completely from the external Flash memory, or downloaded from the Internet. When the file is incomplete, it is not possible to open it correctly. In this case, please download or copy the file QCOW2 again.
Step 4. Contact an IT expert
When all of the above methods have failed, it remains to contact an IT specialist or developers of the QEMU MANAGER program.
File extensions similar to QCOW2
- QC-EMOD
- QCD
- QCOW
- QCT
- QCF
- QCI
- QCN
- QCK
- QCOW2
- QCP
Что обозначает расширение QCOW2?
QEMU Copy On Write Version 2 Disk Image файлы были изначально разработаны Open Source для приложений ПО Quick Emulator (QEMU). Наши внутренние данные веб-отслеживания показывают, что файлы QEMU Copy On Write Version 2 Disk Image пользуются наибольшей популярностью среди пользователей, использующих операционную систему Windows 10, а также проживающих в United States. Было определено, что большинство из этих пользователей используют Google Chrome.
Связанные разработчики и программное обеспечение
Топ языков пользователей QCOW2
Топ файловых браузеров, используемых пользователями QCOW2
Подходит для установки на ПК?
Подходит для установки на мобильное устройство?
Топ стран, в которых используют файл QCOW2
Топ операционных систем среди пользователей
| Windows 10 | Windows 11 | Windows 6 | Windows 8.1 |
Связанные операционные системы
How to view QCOW2 file?
Sometimes you just need to see what is in the QCOW2 file, without having to perform more complicated operations. In this case, it is enough that you use the so-called QCOW2 Viewer. QCOW2 viewer is some kind of simple tool that only allows you to view the contents of the QCOW2 file. To view the content of the QCOW2 file you can use several options:
Software supporting QCOW2 files
If our QCOW2 Viewer Online did not help you, you have a few more options. The first is to download the software that supports QCOW2 files Here are some sample programs that can help you. If you choose to install software that supports QCOW2, you will have additional oppositions, such as converting the QCOW2 file or editing the QCOW2 file.
What are the pros and cons of such a solution?
First of all, you need to know that you need to install specific software that supports QCOW2 files on your computer. Unfortunately, it is not possible to see the QCOW2 file online in this case. Here you will need more time to use this solution, but you will also have more options. Below you will find a list of example applications that are dedicated to working with the QCOW2 file — for the full list go to QCOW2 File Opener
Programs supporting QCOW2
QEMU
Qemu Manager
Other options
You haven’t seen the content of your QCOW2 file yet and you don’t need additional software? Try other options. Many file types are simply text files or data archives. If this is the case, you can try to preview the contents of QCOW2 file with «Notepad». This solution does not guarantee that the problem will be solved, but it will often allow you to view the data in the QCOW2 file to some extent.
As in the case of Notepad, you can also use the data archiving program. Try to open your file with e.g. Winrar or Winzip. If your QCOW2 file belongs to the archived files category, you will see a list of files inside the archive. Go to the information page about the QCOW2 file extension. to see what kind of data it contains.
Additional options for solving the problem
Try one of the proposed solutions:
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As technology continues to evolve, the world is experiencing a growing number of file formats, with each serving a unique purpose. One such format is the QCOW2 (QEMU Copy-On-Write Version 2) file extension, which is utilized mainly in the virtualization environment. In this article, we will discuss several possible formats and ways to open/use files with QCOW2 file extensions. We will also delve into the various applications and their respective use cases, guiding you towards a seamless experience of working with QCOW2 files.
Understanding the QCOW2 File Format
The QCOW2 file format is an open-source disk image file that is commonly used in virtualization technology, especially in QEMU (Quick Emulator) and KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) environments. This flexible and efficient image format provides features such as thin provisioning, snapshot creation, and disk compression for virtual machine images.
Working with QCOW2 Files in QEMU
QEMU is a widely used open-source machine emulator and virtualizer that can emulate numerous system architectures. It primarily uses the QCOW2 file format for virtual machines’ disks. To work with QCOW2 files in QEMU, follow these steps:
- Download and install QEMU.
- Open a terminal or command-line interface on your system.
- Create a new QCOW2 image with the following command:
- Replace ‘SIZE_GiB’ with the desired size of your virtual disk (in gigabytes).
- To boot a virtual machine with the QCOW2 image, use this command:
qemu-img create -f qcow2 my_image.qcow2 SIZE_GiB
qemu-system-x86_64 -drive file=my_image.qcow2,format=qcow2
By following these steps, you can create and manage QCOW2 disk images for virtual machines in QEMU.
Using the QCOW2 Format in KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machines)
KVM is a virtualization technology built into the Linux kernel, allowing users to run multiple virtual machines with different operating systems while sharing hardware resources. To use QCOW2 images in KVM, complete the following steps:
- Install KVM and KVM-related tools on your Linux-based system.
- Open a terminal or command-line interface.
- Create a new QCOW2 disk image using the same command we used in the QEMU section:
- Once you have a QCOW2 image, create a new KVM virtual machine using the following command:
qemu-img create -f qcow2 my_image.qcow2 SIZE_GiB
virt-install --name my_vm --ram 1024 --disk path=my_image.qcow2,format=qcow2 --vcpus 1 --os-type linux --os-variant generic --network bridge=virbr0 --console pty,target_type=serial --boot hd
This command creates a new KVM virtual machine called ‘my_vm’, with 1GB RAM, a single CPU, and using the QCOW2 image as its virtual disk.
Converting Other Disk Image Formats to QCOW2
Other popular disk image formats such as VMDK (VMware) or VHD (Hyper-V) can be easily converted to QCOW2. You can achieve this by using the qemu-img tool:
qemu-img convert -f SOURCE_FORMAT -O qcow2 source_image.qcow2 destination_image.qcow2
Replace ‘SOURCE_FORMAT’ with the source disk image format (e.g., ‘vmdk’ for VMware), ‘source_image.qcow2’ with the input disk image file, and ‘destination_image.qcow2’ with the target QCOW2 file you wish to create.
QCOW2 File Important Information
In summary, QCOW2 is a versatile and efficient file format commonly employed in virtualization environments, predominantly with QEMU and KVM technologies. It offers beneficial features such as disk compression, thin provisioning, and snapshot capabilities, making it an ideal choice for managing virtual machines. By understanding the proper use cases and tools for working with QCOW2 files, users can take full advantage of its features and seamlessly incorporate them into their virtualization tasks.
If you downloaded a QCOW2 file on Android device you can open it by following steps below:
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