How to Install Windows 10/11 on Ubuntu Using KVM/QEMU

Muhammad S.A. Iqbal — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 18:11:19 +0000

How to Install Windows 10/11 on Ubuntu Using KVM/QEMU

Running Windows inside Ubuntu is one of the most useful applications of Linux virtualization. Instead of dual-booting or relying on traditional desktop virtualization software, you can run Windows as a virtual machine using KVM, QEMU, libvirt, and Virtual Machine Manager (virt-manager).

This setup provides hardware-assisted virtualization, VirtIO-based storage and networking, UEFI firmware, USB passthrough, snapshots, and convenient VM management.

Practical Environment: This guide uses Windows 10 as the primary hands-on example. The same general architecture can be used for Windows 11, but Windows 11 requires additional virtual hardware such as TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot-capable UEFI.

Important: Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. Windows 10 can still run, but standard security and feature updates are no longer provided. For a new VM in 2026, Windows 11 is generally the current supported Windows target; Windows 10 remains useful for legacy applications and compatibility testing.

What We Are Building
KVM vs QEMU vs libvirt vs virt-manager
Windows 10 vs Windows 11
Requirements
Check Hardware Virtualization
Install KVM/QEMU and Virtualization Packages
Configure User Permissions
Configure the libvirt Network
Verify the KVM Installation
Install and Open virt-manager
Download Windows ISO
Download VirtIO Drivers
Create the Virtual Machine
Configure UEFI (Especially for Windows 11)
Configure CPU and RAM
Configure the Virtual Disk
Configure the Network
Configure SPICE
Attach the VirtIO ISO
Start Windows Installation
Load the VirtIO Storage Driver
Install Windows
Install VirtIO Guest Drivers
Install SPICE Guest Agent
Test Internet Connectivity
Run and Manage Windows OS
Create the First Snapshot

🗺️ Start and Stop the VM
🗺️ USB Passthrough
🗺️ File Sharing Between Ubuntu and Windows
🗺️ Clipboard Sharing
🗺️ Performance Optimization
🗺️ Back Up the VM
🗺️ VM Autostart
🗺️ Useful virsh Commands
🗺️ Common Problems
🗺️ Recommended Configuration
🗺️ Final Architecture
🗺️ Conclusion

1. What We Are Building

The final environment will look like this:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                (Ubuntu 26.04 Host)               │
│                                                  │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │           (Virtual Machine Manager)        │  │
│  │                                            │  │
│  │                virt-manager                │  │
│  │                     │                      │  │
│  │                  libvirt                   │  │
│  │                     │                      │  │
│  │                    QEMU                    │  │
│  │                     │                      │  │
│  │                    KVM                     │  │
│  │                     │                      │  │
│  │       ┌────────────────────────────┐       │  │
│  │       │       Windows 10/11        │       │  │
│  │       │                            │       │  │
│  │       │  4 vCPU                    │       │  │
│  │       │  6 GB RAM                  │       │  │
│  │       │  VirtIO Disk               │       │  │
│  │       │  VirtIO Network            │       │  │
│  │       │  SPICE Display             │       │  │
│  │       │  UEFI                      │       │  │
│  │       └────────────────────────────┘       │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                                                  │
│                (Intel VT-x / AMD-V)              │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The technologies have different responsibilities.

KVM — KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is the Linux kernel's hardware virtualization mechanism.
QEMU — Its provides the virtual machine process and virtual hardware.
libvirt — Its provides a management layer for QEMU/KVM virtual machines.
virt-manager — Virtual Machine Manager (virt-manager) provides a graphical interface for managing libvirt VMs.

This combination is widely used for Linux virtualization and is an excellent foundation for learning virtualization and DevOps.

Other essentials are —

OVMF — Its provides UEFI firmware for the virtual machine.
VirtIO — Its provides high-performance paravirtualized devices such as Virtual disks, Network adapters, SCSI controllers
SPICE — Its provides the graphical console and guest integration features.

2. KVM vs QEMU vs libvirt vs virt-manager

A common source of confusion is thinking these are competing virtualization technologies.

They are actually different layers:

virt-manager
     │
     ▼
  libvirt
     │
     ▼
   QEMU
     │
     ▼
    KVM
     │
     ▼
Physical CPU virtualization

In simple terms:

KVM → Hardware acceleration
QEMU → Virtual machine + virtual hardware
libvirt → VM management
virt-manager → GUI

This separation makes the platform flexible. You can manage the same VM using either a graphical interface or command-line tools such as virsh.

3. Windows 10 vs Windows 11

The basic KVM architecture works for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

However, Windows 11 requires additional virtual hardware.

Microsoft lists requirements including:

UEFI firmware
Secure Boot capability
TPM 2.0
At least 4 GB RAM
At least 64 GB storage
At least two virtual processors

Therefore:

Windows 10

UEFI
VirtIO
SPICE
No vTPM required

Windows 11

UEFI
Secure Boot
TPM 2.0
VirtIO
SPICE

For this practical guide, Windows 10 is used because it makes the VirtIO installation process particularly easy to demonstrate.

4. Requirements

Hardware

Recommended:

64-bit Intel or AMD processor
Intel VT-x or AMD-V
At least 8 GB RAM
80–100 GB free storage
SSD recommended
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

For comfortable Windows virtualization:

16 GB RAM or more

is preferable.

Recommended VM configuration

For a host with 16 GB RAM:

CPU:       4 vCPU
RAM:       6 GB
Disk:      80–100 GB
Storage:   VirtIO
Network:   VirtIO
Display:   SPICE
Firmware:  UEFI

These values are starting points, not strict requirements.

5. Check Hardware Virtualization

Open Terminal.

Run:

lscpu | grep -E 'Virtualization|Model name'

On an Intel system, you should see something similar to:

Model name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7
Virtualization: VT-x

For AMD:

Virtualization: AMD-V

Check whether `/dev/kvm` exists

Run:

ls -l /dev/kvm

You should see something similar to:

crw-rw----+ 1 root kvm ... /dev/kvm

Install the KVM checker

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y cpu-checker

Then:

kvm-ok

Expected result:

INFO: /dev/kvm exists
KVM acceleration can be used

If KVM acceleration is unavailable, enter your computer's BIOS/UEFI and enable hardware virtualization.

For Intel systems, the option may be called:

Intel Virtualization Technology
VT-x
Intel VT

For AMD systems:

SVM
AMD-V

6. Install KVM/QEMU and Virtualization Packages

Ubuntu 26.04 uses newer HWE virtualization packages, so older tutorials may show slightly different package names.

Install the main components:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install -y \
qemu-system-x86 \
qemu-utils \
libvirt-daemon-system \
libvirt-clients \
virt-manager \
ovmf \
bridge-utils \
dnsmasq-base \
cpu-checker

What these packages provide

Package	Purpose
`qemu-system-x86`	QEMU x86 virtual machines
`qemu-utils`	QEMU disk utilities
`libvirt-daemon-system`	libvirt virtualization service
`libvirt-clients`	`virsh` command-line tools
`virt-manager`	GUI virtualization manager
`ovmf`	UEFI firmware
`bridge-utils`	Network bridge utilities
`dnsmasq-base`	Virtual network DHCP/DNS support
`cpu-checker`	KVM capability checking

What about `qemu-kvm`? (Optional)

On some Ubuntu versions, tutorials tell you to run:

sudo apt install qemu-kvm

On newer Ubuntu releases, qemu-kvm may be a virtual package provided by another QEMU package.

If Ubuntu tells you:

Package qemu-kvm is a virtual package

that isn't necessarily an error.

For this setup, installing:

qemu-system-x86

is sufficient.

7. Configure User Permissions

Add your user to the KVM and libvirt groups:

sudo usermod -aG kvm,libvirt $USER

Check:

groups

You should eventually see:

kvm
libvirt

Important

Log out and log back in.

A reboot is also fine:

sudo reboot

After logging back in:

groups

8. Configure the `libvirt` Network

libvirt normally provides a default NAT network.

Check it:

virsh net-list --all

You should see something like:

 Name      State    Autostart
-------------------------------
 default   active   yes

If default exists but is inactive:

sudo virsh net-start default

Enable automatic startup:

sudo virsh net-autostart default

Check again:

 virsh net-list --all

How the default network works

The typical architecture is:

Windows VM
    │
    ▼
VirtIO Network Adapter
    │
    ▼
libvirt default network
    │
    ▼
NAT
    │
    ▼
Ubuntu
    │
    ▼
Internet

The Windows VM does not need a physical network adapter.

9. Verify the KVM Installation

Run:

kvm-ok

Then:

lsmod | grep kvm

On Intel:

kvm_intel
kvm

Check libvirt:

virsh list --all

No VMs should exist yet.

That's fine.

Check the network:

virsh net-list --all

You want the default network active.

10. Install and Open `virt-manager`

The package was already installed in step 5.

Launch it:

virt-manager

Or open:

Applications
→ Virtual Machine Manager

You should see:

QEMU/KVM

Double-click the connection.

If it connects successfully, your virtualization environment is ready.

11. Download the Windows ISO

For Windows 10, download the ISO from Microsoft's official Windows 10 download page

For Windows 11, use Microsoft's official Windows 11 download page

Store the ISO somewhere such as:

~/Downloads/

For example:

~/Downloads/Win10_22H2.iso

For Windows 11:

~/Downloads/Win11.iso

Use a legitimate Windows license/product key for activation.

12. Download VirtIO Drivers

Windows does not necessarily contain the VirtIO drivers required for your virtual storage and network devices.

The virtio-win project provides Windows drivers and guest tools for QEMU/KVM. The project maintains stable and latest ISO builds.

Download the VirtIO Windows ISO from the official VirtIO project

Save it as:

~/Downloads/virtio-win.iso

You should now have:

~/Downloads/
├── Win10_22H2.iso
└── virtio-win.iso

VirtIO provides optimized virtual storage and networking drivers for Windows guests running on QEMU/KVM.

13. Create the Windows 10 Virtual Machine

Open Terminal and type:

virt-manager

Select:

QEMU/KVM

Then:

File
→ New Virtual Machine

Step 1 — Installation media

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Select Local install media (ISO image or CDROM)
Then click Forward

Step 2 — Select the Windows ISO

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Click Browse
Select from ~/Downloads/Win10_22H2.iso
virt-manager may automatically detect: Microsoft Windows 10. (If it doesn't, select the appropriate Windows version manually.)
Click Forward

Step 3 — Allocate RAM and CPU

For a 16 GB host, a reasonable starting point is:

RAM: 6144 MB
CPU: 4 vCPU

For an 8 GB host:

RAM: 4096 MB
CPU: 2–4 vCPU

For a 32 GB host:

RAM: 8192 MB or more

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Set RAM as 4096 MB (4GB) (NB: Its depends on your host computer)
Set CPU cores as 4 (NB: Its depends on your host computer)
Then Click Forward.

Set name of VM OS
Select Network

Avoid giving the VM almost all of the host's RAM.

Ubuntu still needs memory for:

GNOME
Browser
VS Code
Docker
Background services
QEMU
Other applications

14. Configure UEFI (Especially for `Windows 11`)

Before starting installation, enable UEFI.

In virt-manager:

Overview
→ Firmware

Select:

UEFI

This normally uses OVMF/EDK2 firmware.

For Windows 10:

UEFI

is sufficient.

For Windows 11, configure:

UEFI
+ Secure Boot capability
+ TPM 2.0

Microsoft requires TPM 2.0 and UEFI/Secure Boot capability for Windows 11.

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

15. Configure the CPU

Use:

CPU model:
host-passthrough

This exposes appropriate host CPU features to the guest.

Important CPU topology correction

Do not use:

Sockets: 1
Cores: 1
Threads: 2

and then call the VM a 4-vCPU VM.

That configuration represents:

1 × 1 × 2 = 2 vCPU

For 4 vCPU, if manually specifying topology, for example:

Sockets: 1
Cores: 2
Threads: 2

gives:

1 × 2 × 2 = 4 vCPU

However, for a normal desktop Windows VM, simply allocating 4 virtual CPUs is usually easier.

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Select CPUs
Select Configuration as Copy host CPU configuration (host-passthrough)
Select Manually set CPU topology and set as Sockets: 1, Cores: 2, Threads: 2
Click Apply

16. Configure the Virtual Disk

Create a virtual disk:

80–100 GB

For a general-purpose Windows VM:

100 GB

is a comfortable starting point if sufficient host storage is available.

The virtual disk format as qcow2

The default libvirt location is commonly:

/var/lib/libvirt/images/

For example:

/var/lib/libvirt/images/Windows-10.qcow2

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Click Add Hardware
Select Storage
Select as Create a disk image for the virtual machine and set your prefer storage.
Then click Finish option

Configure VirtIO Storage

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Select SATA Disk 1
Set Disk bus as VirtIO
Click Apply

This gives Windows high-performance paravirtualized storage.

However, Windows Setup may not initially recognize the disk. That is why the VirtIO ISO must also be attached.

17. Configure the Network

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Select the network interface as NIC :9d:f3:8f
Set Network source as Virtual network 'default': NAT
Set Device model as virtio
Then click Apply

The final network architecture is:

Internet
   |
Ubuntu
   |
libvirt_NAT
   |
VirtIO_NIC
   |
Windows

18. Configure SPICE Display

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Click Add Hardware
Select Graphics
Set type as Spice server
Then click Finish

For the video device, use a model supported by your current virt-manager/QEMU/Windows combination. QXL remains a common SPICE configuration; VirtIO-GPU may also be available depending on the stack and Windows driver support.

Note: If any problem faced for selecting as Spice server, then switched as VNC server

19. Attach the VirtIO ISO

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

In virt-manager:

Click Add Hardware
Select Storage
Select as Select or create custom storage
Click Manage and select from ~/Downloads/virtio-win-0.1.302.iso
Then click Choose Volume

Now, Which setting you have to configure that shown in the image below:

Set Device Type as CDROM device
Set Bus type as SATA
Then click Finish

Finally, Which setting you have to configure that shown in the image below:

Select Boot Options
Select as Enable boot menu and organize boot sequences as -
- SATA CDROM 1
- VirtIO Disk 1
Click Apply

20. Start Windows Installation

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Click Begin Installation

When Allow inhibiting shortcut diaglog box shown then click Allow button.

Select Language
Select Time and currency Keyboard

Then, click Install now

When prompted for a product key, you can select as I don't have a product key, if you plan to activate Windows later with a valid license.

Select the Windows edition you are licensed to use. For example, Windows 10 Pro

Accept I accept the license terms

Select as Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)

21. Load the VirtIO Storage Driver

When you may reach as Where do you want to install Windows? and No drives were found.

This happens because Windows Setup does not have the required VirtIO storage driver loaded.

Click Load driver

Then:

Browse

Open the VirtIO CD-ROM.

Depending on the VirtIO release and storage controller, look for directories such as:

viostor
vioscsi

Then select the appropriate Windows 10 64-bit driver directory.

For example:

amd64

The exact directory structure can change between VirtIO releases, so don't hard-code a specific path such as:

E:\amd64\w10\viostor.inf

unless that exact path exists on the ISO you're using.

Select the appropriate .inf driver.

Windows Setup should then detect the virtual disk.

Then, click OK

Select as Red Hat VirtIO SCSI controller (E:\amd64\w10\viostor.inf)

22. Install Windows

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Select as Drive 0 Unallocated Space
Click Next option.

Windows will create the necessary partitions automatically.

The installation will proceed and the VM will restart several times.

Once Windows starts booting from the virtual disk, you may remove the Windows installation ISO.

Keep the VirtIO ISO attached until the required drivers have been installed.

Complete Windows Initial Setup

Complete the normal Windows setup:

Keyboard layout
Network
User account
Password/PIN
Privacy settings

If you temporarily install without Internet access, you can connect the VirtIO network after installing the network driver.

23. Install VirtIO Guest Drivers

After reaching the Windows desktop, open:

This PC

Open the VirtIO CD-ROM.

Depending on the VirtIO ISO, you may find:

virtio-win-gt-x64.msi

or other guest-tool installers.

Install the appropriate package.

Restart Windows.

Verify VirtIO Devices

Open Device Manager

Check:

Disk drives
Storage controllers
Network adapters
Display adapters
System devices

There should be no unexplained yellow warning icons (⚠️).

If you see one, right-click it:

Update driver → Browse my computer for drivers

24. Install SPICE Guest Agent

SPICE guest components are separate from the general VirtIO driver package.

The SPICE project provides Windows guest tools including SPICE-related guest components.

Download the appropriate SPICE guest tools from the official SPICE download area and install them inside Windows.

This can provide features such as:

Better mouse integration
Clipboard integration
Guest-agent communication
Improved desktop integration

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Restart Windows after installation.

25. Test Internet Connectivity

Open Command Prompt:

ipconfig

The VM will commonly receive an address in:

192.168.122.x

when using the standard libvirt NAT network.

Test the network:

ping 8.8.8.8

Then test DNS:

ping google.com

If both work:

Network      ✓
DNS          ✓
VirtIO NIC   ✓
Internet     ✓

26. Run and Manage Windows-OS

❏❏❏ Install `virt-viewer` on Ubuntu

virt-viewer can connect to a virtual machine and display its graphical console in full-screen mode. Therefore, you can use it to view your Windows VM. This step is optional.

First, check whether virt-viewer is already installed.

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Open the Ubuntu terminal and type:

virt-viewer

If virt-viewer is not installed, install it using:

sudo apt install virt-viewer

❏❏❏ Run Windows 10/11 OS with KVM/QEMU

Suppose you are using Windows 10 as the guest OS.

Open a terminal on Ubuntu and type:

virt-manager

When the Virtual Machine Manager window opens, select Win10 and click the Play button.

This will be shown as follows:

Now, open another terminal.

Type:

virt-viewer

When the Choose a virtual machine window opens, select Win10 and click the Connect button.

When the Allow inhibiting shortcuts dialog box appears, click the Allow button.

Now, enjoy!

27. Create the First Snapshot

Once Windows is completely configured, shut it down.

In virt-manager:

Windows-10
→ Snapshots
→ Create

Name it:

Clean-Windows-10-Installation

You can create another snapshot after installing your normal applications:

Windows-10-Base-Apps

Snapshots are useful recovery points, but they should not replace proper VM backups.

🗺️ Start and Stop the VM

Start

virsh start Windows-10

Check status

virsh list --all

Graceful shutdown

virsh shutdown Windows-10

Force power off

virsh destroy Windows-10

destroy does not delete the VM. It immediately stops the guest, similar to physically powering off a computer.

Use graceful shutdown whenever possible.

🗺️ USB Passthrough

USB devices can be passed from Ubuntu to Windows.

Examples include:

USB flash drives
Android phones
USB printers
USB adapters
USB license dongles

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

In virt-manager:

Select Virtual Machine
Select Redirect USB device

Select the desired USB device and click.

When you want to disconnect or eject USB devices

Uncheck your USB-Device and close the windows.

You can also inspect USB devices from Ubuntu

lsusb

Example:

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 046d:c077 Logitech Mouse

🗺️ File Sharing Between Ubuntu and Windows

Your original article's file-sharing section needs the most cleanup.

There are two different directions.

Ubuntu → Windows

If Ubuntu contains the files you want Windows to access, use Samba or another network-sharing mechanism on Ubuntu.

Windows can then access:

\\192.168.122.1\share

depending on the host-side network configuration.

Windows → Ubuntu

If Windows contains the files you want Ubuntu to access, share the folder from Windows using SMB.

For example:

Windows shared folder
        │
        ▼
SMB
        │
        ▼
Ubuntu Files

From Ubuntu, you can access:

smb://192.168.122.x/

where 192.168.122.x is the Windows VM's address.

In Windows OS

The configuration method is shown in the image below:

Create a folder and right-click it. When a new window opens, go to the Sharing tab.
Select Advanced Sharing and click it.
- Select Share this folder and click the Permissions button.
- Select Everyone and check the required permission options.
- Click Apply and then click OK.

Select the folder and right-click it. When a new window opens, go to the Security tab.
Select the Everyone option.
- Check the required permission options.
- Click Apply and then click OK.

Go to the search box and type Manage advanced sharing settings.

Expand Private (current profile).

Enable Turn on network discovery.
Enable Turn on file and printer sharing.

Expand Guest or Public.

Enable Turn on network discovery.
Enable Turn on file and printer sharing.

Expand All Networks.

Enable Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public folders.
Enable Use 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections (recommended).

For normal use, do not disable password-protected sharing. Using authenticated SMB access is preferable.

Go to the search box, type cmd, and select Command Prompt.

Type the following command in the terminal:

ipconfig

Then look for the IPv4 Address. This is the IP address of the Windows 10 VM. For example, suppose the IP address is 192.168.122.128.

Open Files on Ubuntu and go to the Network section. Enter:

smb://192.168.122.128

Then press Enter.

After pressing Enter, a new Authentication Required window will appear.
Select the password field and enter your Windows login password.
Click the Connect button.

Select your shared folder. For example, suppose the shared folder is named Drivers. Open the folder.

Copy or place the file you want to share into this folder. For example:

spice-guest-tools-latest.exe

You can then access this file from Ubuntu through the Windows SMB share.

🗺️ Clipboard Sharing

With SPICE guest components installed and the VM configured for SPICE, clipboard integration may allow:

Ubuntu
  ↓
Copy
  ↓
Windows

and:

Windows
  ↓
Copy
  ↓
Ubuntu

Test both directions.

For large files, use SMB or another file-transfer mechanism rather than clipboard or drag-and-drop.

🗺️ Performance Optimization

Once the VM is working, verify the following.

CPU

host-passthrough

Storage

VirtIO

Network

VirtIO

Firmware

UEFI

Display

SPICE

Disk

qcow2

Ubuntu 26.04's current QEMU/libvirt stack includes modern VirtIO and virtualization improvements, so current Ubuntu packages are preferable to manually installing old QEMU/libvirt versions from third-party guides. (Ubuntu Documentation)

❏❏❏ Don't Overallocate RAM

Suppose the host has:

16 GB RAM

Don't give Windows:

14 GB

and leave Ubuntu with only 2 GB.

A more reasonable starting point is:

Ubuntu → 8–10 GB
Windows → 6–8 GB

Adjust according to your workload.

If you're running:

VS Code
Docker
Chrome
Firefox
Kubernetes

on Ubuntu simultaneously, leave more RAM for the host.

❏❏❏ Don't Overallocate CPU

If your processor has:

8 logical CPUs

start with:

Windows → 4 vCPU

and allow Ubuntu to use the remaining CPU capacity.

More vCPUs do not automatically mean better VM performance.

❏❏❏ Check VM Information

Run:

virsh dominfo Windows-10

You can see:

State
CPU(s)
Max memory
Used memory
Autostart

❏❏❏ Check the QEMU Process

Run:

ps aux | grep '[q]emu'

This allows you to inspect the QEMU process associated with the running VM.

❏❏❏ Check libvirt Logs

If a VM refuses to start, check:

sudo journalctl -u libvirtd --since today

On modular libvirt installations, you may also need:

sudo journalctl -u virtqemud --since today

❏❏❏ VM Storage Location

The default libvirt storage location is commonly:

/var/lib/libvirt/images/

Check:

sudo ls -lh /var/lib/libvirt/images/

You may see:

Windows-10.qcow2

🗺️ Back Up the VM

First shut down Windows:

virsh shutdown Windows-10

Check:

virsh list --all

Export the VM configuration:

virsh dumpxml Windows-10 > ~/Windows-10.xml

Back up the disk:

sudo rsync -avh --progress \
/var/lib/libvirt/images/Windows-10.qcow2 \
~/Windows-10-backup.qcow2

Your backup set should contain:

Windows-10.xml
Windows-10.qcow2

For a serious backup strategy, store the backup on a different physical disk from the original VM.

🗺️ VM Autostart

Enable VM Autostart

If you want Windows to start automatically with Ubuntu:

virsh autostart Windows-10

Check:

virsh dominfo Windows-10

To disable

virsh autostart --disable Windows-10

For laptops and workstations, manual startup is often more convenient.

🗺️ Useful `virsh` Commands

List VMs

virsh list --all

Start VM

virsh start Windows-10

Shut down VM

virsh shutdown Windows-10

Force stop

virsh destroy Windows-10

VM information

virsh dominfo Windows-10

Export VM configuration

virsh dumpxml Windows-10

List networks

virsh net-list --all

Start default network

virsh net-start default

Enable network autostart

virsh net-autostart default

Enable VM autostart

virsh autostart Windows-10

Disable VM autostart

virsh autostart --disable Windows-10

🗺️ Common Problem

❏❏❏ Common Problem: `/dev/kvm` Doesn't Exist

Check:

ls -l /dev/kvm

Then:

lsmod | grep kvm

For Intel:

sudo modprobe kvm_intel

For AMD:

sudo modprobe kvm_amd

Then:

ls -l /dev/kvm

If it still doesn't exist, verify that virtualization is enabled in BIOS/UEFI.

❏❏❏ Common Problem: KVM Acceleration Is Unavailable

Run:

kvm-ok

If KVM cannot be used:

Reboot.
Enter BIOS/UEFI.
Enable Intel VT-x or AMD-V/SVM.
Boot Ubuntu.
Run:

kvm-ok

again.

❏❏❏ Common Problem: `default` Network Is Inactive

Check:

virsh net-list --all

If inactive:

sudo virsh net-start default

Then:

sudo virsh net-autostart default

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Windows Says "No Drives Found"

This normally means that the VirtIO storage driver has not been loaded.

Go to:

Load driver
→ Browse
→ VirtIO CD
→ viostor / vioscsi
→ Windows version
→ amd64

Select the appropriate .inf file.

The virtual disk should then appear.

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Windows Has No Internet

In virt-manager, check:

Network source:
Virtual network 'default'

and:

Device model:
VirtIO

Then verify the VirtIO network driver inside Windows.

Run:

ipconfig

If no adapter appears, open:

Device Manager
→ Network adapters

and install the appropriate VirtIO driver.

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Common Problem: Display Is Slow

Verify:

Display:
SPICE

and make sure the appropriate Windows display/guest components are installed.

Also verify that the video device configured in virt-manager has a compatible Windows driver.

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Common Problem: Windows Won't Boot After Changing Disk Bus

Suppose Windows was installed using:

SATA

and you later change the disk to:

VirtIO

Windows may fail to boot if the VirtIO storage driver wasn't installed beforehand.

The correct sequence is:

Install VirtIO driver
        ↓
Verify driver
        ↓
Shut down Windows
        ↓
Change disk to VirtIO
        ↓
Boot Windows

Don't change storage controllers randomly after installation.

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Common Problem: VM Is Extremely Slow

Check:

CPU:
host-passthrough

Disk:
VirtIO

Network:
VirtIO

Firmware:
UEFI

Display:
SPICE

Then check host resources:

free -h

and:

top

If Ubuntu is running out of RAM or CPU, reduce the VM's allocation.

🗺️ Recommended Configuration

For a host with 16 GB RAM:

┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│        Windows VM                │
├──────────────────────────────────┤
│ RAM          6 GB                │
│ CPU          4 vCPU              │
│ CPU Model    host-passthrough    │
│ Disk         80–100 GB           │
│ Disk Format  qcow2               │
│ Disk Bus     VirtIO              │
│ Network      VirtIO              │
│ Network      libvirt NAT         │
│ Firmware     UEFI                │
│ Display      SPICE               │
└──────────────────────────────────┘

For Windows 11, additionally configure:

TPM            2.0
Secure Boot    Enabled/Supported

❏❏❏ Complete Ubuntu Installation Commands

For a standard Ubuntu 26.04 setup:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install -y \
qemu-kvm \
qemu-system-x86 \
qemu-utils \
libvirt-daemon-system \
libvirt-clients \
virt-manager \
ovmf \
bridge-utils \
dnsmasq-base \
cpu-checker

Add your user:

sudo usermod -aG kvm,libvirt $USER

Configure libvirt:

sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd

Configure the default network:

sudo virsh net-start default

If it is already running, that's fine.

Enable autostart:

sudo virsh net-autostart default

Check KVM:

kvm-ok

Reboot:

sudo reboot

After reboot:

groups

Then:

virt-manager

❏❏❏ Windows 11 Additional Configuration

If you want to use Windows 11 instead of Windows 10, create the VM using:

UEFI
TPM 2.0
Secure Boot
4+ GB RAM
2+ vCPU
64+ GB storage

Microsoft specifically lists TPM 2.0, UEFI/Secure Boot capability, storage, memory, and processor requirements for Windows 11. (Microsoft Support)

In virt-manager, you can add a virtual TPM through:

Add Hardware
→ TPM

Choose:

TPM Type:
Emulated

and:

Version:
2.0

The exact virt-manager UI may differ slightly between Ubuntu releases.

🗺️ Final Architecture

After configuration:

                         INTERNET
                            │
                            ▼
                    Ubuntu 26.04 Host
                            │
                 ┌──────────┴──────────┐
                 │                     │
              libvirt                 KVM
                 │                     │
                 └──────────┬──────────┘
                            │
                           QEMU
                            │
                   ┌────────┴────────┐
                   │                 │
                VirtIO             SPICE
                   │                 │
                   ▼                 ▼
             Windows 10/11       VM Console
                   │
        ┌──────────┼───────────┐
        │          │           │
      Disk       Network      USB
     VirtIO      VirtIO     Passthrough

🗺️ Conclusion

KVM/QEMU is a powerful way to run Windows inside Ubuntu without dual-booting.

DEV Community: Muhammad S.A. Iqbal

How to Install Windows 10/11 on Ubuntu Using KVM/QEMU

How to Install Windows 10/11 on Ubuntu Using KVM/QEMU

Table of Contents

1. What We Are Building

2. KVM vs QEMU vs libvirt vs virt-manager

3. Windows 10 vs Windows 11

4. Requirements

Hardware

5. Check Hardware Virtualization

Check whether /dev/kvm exists

Install the KVM checker

6. Install KVM/QEMU and Virtualization Packages

What these packages provide

What about qemu-kvm? (Optional)

7. Configure User Permissions

Important

8. Configure the libvirt Network

How the default network works

9. Verify the KVM Installation

10. Install and Open virt-manager

11. Download the Windows ISO

12. Download VirtIO Drivers

13. Create the Windows 10 Virtual Machine

Step 1 — Installation media

Step 2 — Select the Windows ISO

Step 3 — Allocate RAM and CPU

14. Configure UEFI (Especially for Windows 11)

15. Configure the CPU

Important CPU topology correction

16. Configure the Virtual Disk

Configure VirtIO Storage

17. Configure the Network

18. Configure SPICE Display

19. Attach the VirtIO ISO

20. Start Windows Installation

21. Load the VirtIO Storage Driver

22. Install Windows

Complete Windows Initial Setup

23. Install VirtIO Guest Drivers

Verify VirtIO Devices

24. Install SPICE Guest Agent

25. Test Internet Connectivity

26. Run and Manage Windows-OS

❏❏❏ Install virt-viewer on Ubuntu

❏❏❏ Run Windows 10/11 OS with KVM/QEMU

27. Create the First Snapshot

🗺️ Start and Stop the VM

🗺️ USB Passthrough

When you want to disconnect or eject USB devices

You can also inspect USB devices from Ubuntu

🗺️ File Sharing Between Ubuntu and Windows

Ubuntu → Windows

Windows → Ubuntu

In Windows OS

🗺️ Clipboard Sharing

🗺️ Performance Optimization

❏❏❏ Don't Overallocate RAM

❏❏❏ Don't Overallocate CPU

❏❏❏ Check VM Information

❏❏❏ Check the QEMU Process

❏❏❏ Check libvirt Logs

❏❏❏ VM Storage Location

🗺️ Back Up the VM

🗺️ VM Autostart

Enable VM Autostart

To disable

🗺️ Useful virsh Commands

🗺️ Common Problem

❏❏❏ Common Problem: /dev/kvm Doesn't Exist

❏❏❏ Common Problem: KVM Acceleration Is Unavailable

❏❏❏ Common Problem: default Network Is Inactive

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Windows Says "No Drives Found"

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Windows Has No Internet

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Common Problem: Display Is Slow

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Common Problem: Windows Won't Boot After Changing Disk Bus

❏❏❏ Common Problem: Common Problem: VM Is Extremely Slow

🗺️ Recommended Configuration

❏❏❏ Complete Ubuntu Installation Commands

❏❏❏ Windows 11 Additional Configuration

Check whether `/dev/kvm` exists

What about `qemu-kvm`? (Optional)

8. Configure the `libvirt` Network

10. Install and Open `virt-manager`

14. Configure UEFI (Especially for `Windows 11`)

❏❏❏ Install `virt-viewer` on Ubuntu

🗺️ Useful `virsh` Commands

❏❏❏ Common Problem: `/dev/kvm` Doesn't Exist

❏❏❏ Common Problem: `default` Network Is Inactive