Windows 98 Qcow2 May 2026

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

Why these flags?

Assume you have a perfect install at base.qcow2. To create a new child image:

qemu-img create -f qcow2 -b base.qcow2 -F qcow2 my_game_vm.qcow2

This 100KB file acts as a full 4GB drive. Writes go to my_game_vm.qcow2; reads come from base.qcow2. You can run 10 games simultaneously without duplicating the OS files.

Windows 98 remains a nostalgia-rich OS for hobbyists, retro gamers, and preservationists. QCOW2 (QEMU Copy-On-Write v2) is a flexible virtual disk format widely used with QEMU/KVM that supports sparse storage, snapshots, and compression. Combining the two lets you run Windows 98 inside modern virtualized environments while keeping disk images compact, portable, and snapshot-capable. This article explains why you might choose QCOW2 for Windows 98, practical setup steps, performance and compatibility considerations, and preservation tips. windows 98 qcow2

Open your terminal. Do not use a raw disk; embrace qcow2.

qemu-img create -f qcow2 windows98_se.qcow2 8G

Why 8GB? Windows 98 cannot natively see partitions larger than 127GB without FAT32 hacks, and 8GB keeps the allocation table small and fast.

If you need to move to a physical disk (or VirtualBox), convert: Why these flags

qemu-img convert win98se.qcow2 -O raw win98se.img

Or to VMDK:

qemu-img convert win98se.qcow2 -O vmdk win98se.vmdk

Windows 98 has a hostile relationship with modern CPU virtualization.

The Secret: Force QEMU to use a single thread for V8086 mode: Assume you have a perfect install at base

-accel tcg,thread=single -smp 1

Never give Windows 98 more than 1 CPU core. It will blue screen during vmm32.vxd loading.

# Add to QEMU command:
-rtc base=localtime \
-global isa-fdc.driveA= \
-cpu host,migratable=no,rdtscp=off,svm=off,vmx=off,hypervisor=off \
-smp 1,sockets=1,cores=1,threads=1

Let’s address the elephant in the CRT monitor: You cannot legally download pre-activated Windows 98 ISOs from random archive sites without owning a license.

What you need: