Windows 11/ XP on KVM/QEMU with Virt‑Manager (2026 Edition): A Complete, Copy‑Paste Guide

Last tested: Proxmox 9.0.3 / Kernel 6.14.8

This guide walks you through a clean, modern Windows 11 installation on a Linux host using KVM/QEMU + libvirt + virt-manager — with UEFI, Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, proper VirtIO drivers, and practical performance tuning.

You’ll also find:

• A full virt-install CLI one-liner for terminal users
• A separate, tested Windows XP section using legacy hardware emulation
• No Proxmox required (works on bare-metal Linux)

👉 For the Windows XP (legacy BIOS) section, jump here.

Why run Windows 11 on KVM?

Performance
Near-native CPU performance using KVM with paravirtualized VirtIO drivers and excellent disk I/O.

Clean Linux integration
Uses the upstream Linux virtualization stack (libvirt), portable across Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Debian, and openSUSE.

Modern security
UEFI firmware, Secure Boot capability, and TPM 2.0 via swtpm.

Flexibility
Snapshots and backups (qcow2), SPICE or RDP remoting, and optional GPU passthrough (VFIO) for 3D or gaming.

Prerequisites (host)

1) Hardware requirements

• Intel or AMD CPU with virtualization extensions (VT-x / SVM)
• Optional for passthrough: IOMMU (VT-d / AMD-Vi)
• Virtualization enabled in UEFI/BIOS

Quick checks (any distro)

# CPU virtualization flags (vmx for Intel, svm for AMD)
lscpu | grep -i virtualization || egrep -i "(vmx|svm)" /proc/cpuinfo | head

# KVM kernel modules present
lsmod | grep -E "kvm(_amd|_intel)?" || true

# Your user is in libvirt group (log out/in after adding)
groups $USER

2) Required packages

Install the matching set for your distro.

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon-system libvirt-clients virtinst virt-manager ovmf swtpm swtpm-tools bridge-utils
sudo usermod -aG libvirt $USER
sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd

Fedora / RHEL / Alma / Rocky

# Fedora Workstation/Server
dnf -y groupinstall "Virtualization"
dnf -y install virt-install virt-manager edk2-ovmf swtpm
systemctl enable --now libvirtd
usermod -aG libvirt $USER

Arch / Manjaro

sudo pacman -S --needed qemu-full libvirt virt-manager virt-install edk2-ovmf swtpm
sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd
sudo usermod -aG libvirt $USER

openSUSE Leap/Tumbleweed

sudo zypper install -y qemu-kvm libvirt virt-manager virt-install ovmf swtpm
sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd
sudo usermod -aG libvirt $USER

Log out/in (or reboot) so your user’s new libvirt group membership takes effect.

Download the ISOs you’ll mount

• Windows 11 ISO (official) — download from Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11
• VirtIO driver ISO (“virtio-win”) — official builds: https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/latest-virtio/

Save both ISOs to a convenient folder, e.g. ~/iso/.

Create the VM in virt‑manager (GUI path)

Basic wizard

1. Open virt-manager → Create new VM
2. Local install media (ISO) → select the Windows 11 ISO
3. OS type: Windows 11 (or Windows 10 if not listed)

Firmware & machine type

• Firmware: UEFI x86_64 (OVMF)
• Secure Boot: Enable if available
• Machine type: Q35

CPU & memory

• vCPUs: 4 (adjust to your host)
• CPU model: Copy host CPU configuration (host-passthrough)
• RAM: 8 GB recommended (4 GB minimum)

Storage (recommended)

• Disk size: 64 GB+
• Format: qcow2
• Bus: SCSI
• Controller: VirtIO-SCSI
• Cache: None
• Discard: unmap (TRIM)

Attach VirtIO drivers

Before first boot:

• VM Details → Add Hardware → Storage → CDROM
• Attach the virtio-win ISO

Network, display, integration

• NIC model: virtio
• Display: SPICE
• Video: QXL
• Add QEMU Guest Agent channel:
  org.qemu.guest_agent.0

TPM 2.0

• Add Hardware → TPM
• Backend: emulator
• Version: TPM 2.0

Install Windows 11

Start the VM.

At “Where do you want to install Windows?”:

1. Click Load driver
2. Browse the VirtIO ISO
3. Select: vioscsi → w11 → amd64
4. Disk appears → select it → Next

First login & drivers

Inside Windows:

• Open the VirtIO CD
• Run virtio-win-guest-tools.exe
• Reboot when finished

This installs storage, network, ballooning, guest agent, and SPICE tools.

Verify Windows 11 requirements

• Win + R → tpm.msc → TPM 2.0 present
• Win + R → msinfo32 → Secure Boot: On / Supported

CLI alternative: one‑shot virt-install

Adjust paths, CPU/memory, and bridge name. This example creates UEFI+Secure Boot+TPM2, VirtIO‑SCSI storage, and attaches both ISOs.

VMNAME=win11-kvm
ISO_WIN=/path/to/Win.11.Pro.22621.382.iso

ISO_VIRTIO=/path/to/virtio-win-0.1.285.iso
DISK=/path/to/$VMNAME.qcow2

qemu-img create -f qcow2 "$DISK" 100G


sudo virt-install \
  --name "$VMNAME" \
  --memory 8192 --vcpus 4 \
  --cpu host-passthrough \
  --machine q35 \
  --os-variant win11 \
  --graphics spice \
  --video qxl \
  --controller type=scsi,model=virtio-scsi \
  --disk path="$DISK",bus=scsi,format=qcow2,cache=none,discard=unmap \
  --cdrom "$ISO_WIN" \
  --disk path="$ISO_VIRTIO",device=cdrom \
  --network network=default,model=virtio \
  --rng /dev/urandom 

If your distro doesn’t support the secureboot=on flag, enable Secure Boot from virt‑manager after creation: Overview → Firmware → Enable Secure Boot.

Performance & reliability tuning (post‑install)

• CPU model: Keep host‑passthrough for best performance and feature exposure.
• Disk: Use VirtIO‑SCSI with discard=unmap to allow TRIM from the guest. In Windows, confirm TRIM: open Admin PowerShell → Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter C -ReTrim -Verbose
• VirtIO Balloon: Installed by guest tools; allows the host to reclaim memory under pressure.
• QEMU Guest Agent: Ensure the Windows service is Running (services.msc) — improves shutdown, IP reporting, freeze/thaw for snapshots.
• RNG device: Add a VirtIO RNG (virtio-rng) in virt‑manager (Add Hardware → RNG) to speed up crypto/initialization.
• Backups: Prefer qcow2 images for internal snapshots; for external backups, shut down the VM or use host‑level snapshotting (LVM/ZFS/btrfs) plus guest agent quiesce.

Folder sharing options

SPICE WebDAV (easy): install spice‑guest‑tools in Windows (download: https://www.spice-space.org/download.html), then in your SPICE client map a shared folder (you should see a new network drive).

virtio‑fs (faster): new shared‑folder method with a Windows driver built on WinFsp. Add a virtiofs device in libvirt and install the Windows virtiofs driver/service: https://virtio-fs.gitlab.io/howto-windows.html

Optional: GPU passthrough (VFIO)

For gaming/3D/CUDA, pass a physical GPU into the VM using VFIO and OVMF (UEFI). High‑level checklist:

1. Enable IOMMU in kernel args; reboot and verify groups.
2. Bind the target GPU (and its audio function) to vfio‑pci.
3. Add GPU and audio PCI devices to the VM; set video to none or a minimal display; plug your monitor into the passed‑through GPU.
4. Install the vendor driver inside Windows.

This warrants its own article, but the above outline gets you pointed in the right direction.

Troubleshooting

Update: Installing Windows XP on KVM/QEMU (Legacy BIOS Setup)

Several readers asked if the same KVM/QEMU setup used in this guide can be reused to install Windows XP.
Because Windows XP is a legacy operating system, it requires a different virtual hardware configuration.

Below is a tested, copy-paste–friendly script for installing Windows XP on an Ubuntu host using KVM/QEMU.

⚠️ This setup uses legacy BIOS, older chipset emulation, and XP-compatible devices. It is not suitable for Windows 10/11, but works reliably for Windows XP.

Windows XP – VM Creation Script

VMNAME=winxp-kvm
ISO_WIN=/home/mohammad/Downloads/winxp.iso
DISK=/home/mohammad/tmp/$VMNAME.qcow2

qemu-img create -f qcow2 "$DISK" 40G

sudo virt-install \
  --name "$VMNAME" \
  --memory 2048 \
  --vcpus 2 \
  --cpu pentium3 \
  --machine pc \
  --os-variant winxp \
  --graphics spice \
  --video cirrus \
  --disk path="$DISK",bus=ide,format=qcow2 \
  --cdrom "$ISO_WIN" \
  --network network=default,model=e1000 

Why this works

• Legacy BIOS
• i440fx chipset
• IDE storage (no drivers)
• E1000 NIC (native XP support)
• Cirrus VGA
• Pentium-class CPU

This avoids common XP boot and installer issues such as:

• failed to load Boot00001
• Missing disk during setup
• Setup freezing or reboot loops

Notes

• VirtIO drivers are not required for this setup
• Performance is lower than modern VirtIO-based VMs, but stability is significantly better
• Ideal for legacy software, testing, or nostalgia setups

Final takeaway

• Use the main guide for Windows 11 / modern Windows
• Use the legacy script above for Windows XP
• Mixing modern VM hardware with XP will not work

If this guide helped, share it — and if something breaks, drop a comment and we’ll debug it properly.

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Mohammad Dahamshi

Mohammad Dahamshi is a skilled Embedded Software Engineer and web developer. With experience in C/C++, Linux, WordPress, and DevOps tools, he helps businesses solve technical challenges and build reliable digital solutions. Fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, he also runs Saratec, offering web design and digital marketing services.