Run Windows 11 with Qemu on Linux.
On my laptop runs Linux, I can do most of the stuff, when I am on the road. For some things I can use Wine, but there are exceptions. Some applications only run on Windows.
My first choice always was VirtualBox, but recently I ran into a some problems. The virtual machine would just crash and other strange things. So I looked a Qemu which seems to be more then just an alternative.
Installation Qemu and Virtual Machine Manager
Qemu itself is only a command line software, to manage and run the virtual machines. The central configuration is done as an XML file. For more comfort we also install the “Virtual Machine Manager”.
Lets begin with the installation.
sudo apt update sudo apt install qemu-system qemu-kvm libvirt-clients libvirt-daemon-system bridge-utils virt-manager
After a restart we can now use Qemu.
Create virtual machines
We can now use the “Virtual Machine Manager” to configure and setup virtual machines.
As the first step, we can select the source of our operating system. You can choose between different options, like ISO file, network, FTP.
We select ISO file, for that we have downloaded an ISO file of Windows 11. We cannot select the file directly, we have to select a pool containing the ISO file. For that we copy the ISO file to an existing one or create a new one.
In the next steps we configure the harddisk size, the RAM size and the number of CPUs.
In the last step, we configure the network. In most cases NAT is the best choice, which allows the VM to access the internet, but not your home network or other machines in it directly.
Installation Windows 11
The Windows installations starts, it just works the usual way. We go through the steps and install Windows.
TPM and other things for Windows 11 are no problem. We can pass through the computers TPM or emulate this functionality.
Problems with Windows 10
Windows 10 might give you problems. In our tests the network was not working, because the emulated network card did not work in Windows. This seems to be a problem in the current version of Qemu. May this is fixed in future version, but for now its annoying.
Configuration
The configuration in “Virtual Maschine Manager” offers a lot of functions and works similar to the UI of VirtualBox. In the background the XML configuration file is edited. Some things are more complicated than VirtualBox though.
Installation Guest Additions
Similar to VirtualBox there are guest additions that can be installed. They deliver similar functions, like dynamical display resolution, Drag & Drop and a shared clipboard.
The installation is not simply possible via the menu, but we download it directly from the Internet.
We have to be a little careful with the configuration, as I once managed to make the guest extensions inoperable.
You can download the guest additions here, you can download the ISO file or just the installer, which is smaller.
Best to download the guest additions directly in the virtual machine and start the installation from there. You can just install with standard options.
After restart, the guest additions should be working. If the screen does not scale automatically, check the following option:
Conclusion
Qemu is now my first choice for emulation under Linux. VirtualBox was unreliable for me and sometimes crashed. Qemu runs reliably, offers everything VirtualBox offers and more. Here and there the configuration is a little more complex and the network problem with Windows 10 will hopefully also be fixed.