qemu-img create -f qcow2 win98.qcow2 4G
Converting a Windows 98 installation to Qcow2 offers several benefits:
Modern virtualization solutions like VirtualBox or VMware often struggle to run operating systems as old as Windows 98 due to a lack of legacy driver support and compatibility issues. In this arena, shines, as it can emulate older hardware components that Windows 98 expects to see.
To create a Windows 98 QCOW2 image, you'll need: windows 98 qcow2
I had a trick up my sleeve. I shut down the VM and mounted the qcow2 image directly on my Linux host using guestmount .
qemu-system-x86_64 \ -accel kvm -cpu host,migratable=no,+486 \ -machine pc-i440fx-2.1 \ -m 512 \ -drive file=win98.qcow2,format=qcow2,index=0,media=disk \ -cdrom win98.iso \ -boot order=d \ -soundhw sb16 \ -device ne2k_pci \ -vga cirrus \ -usb -device usb-tablet
(the file only occupies as much space as the data stored within it) and qemu-img create -f qcow2 win98
Replace /dev/cdrom with the path to your Windows 98 installation ISO image.
If you're looking to revisit the Windows 98 experience, one of the best ways to do so is by running it in a virtual machine (VM) using a QCOW2 (QEMU Copy-On-Write) image. In this article, we'll guide you through the process of creating a Windows 98 VM with QCOW2, exploring the benefits and challenges of running this vintage OS in a virtualized environment.
qemu-system-i386 -hda windows98.qcow2 -m 256 I shut down the VM and mounted the
qemu-img convert -f qcow2 win98.qcow2 -O vdi win98.vdi
If you already have a Windows 98 installation in a different format (like VMDK for VMware or VDI for VirtualBox), you can easily convert it.
Windows 98 is not SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) capable. It will crash if more than one CPU core is presented.
The "Second Edition" is highly recommended for its improved USB and driver support [6]. QEMU installed: Available on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Before you begin, make sure you have the following: