| Test | qcow2 (virtio) | raw (virtio) | Bare metal (SATA SSD) | |------|----------------|--------------|------------------------| | Seq Read (CrystalDiskMark) | 2100 MB/s | 2400 MB/s | 2500 MB/s | | Seq Write | 1800 MB/s | 2200 MB/s | 2200 MB/s | | 4K Random Read (QD32) | 420 MB/s | 500 MB/s | 530 MB/s | | Windows Boot time (to desktop) | 28 sec | 25 sec | 18 sec | | Snapshot creation | 0.5 sec | N/A | N/A |
VirtIO drivers are mandatory for these numbers – SATA emulation drops performance by ~60%. windows 10qcow2
Convert a raw or VMDK image to QCOW2:
qemu-img convert -f raw -O qcow2 windows10.raw win10.qcow2
qemu-img convert -f vmdk -O qcow2 windows10.vmdk win10.qcow2
| From | To | Command |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| QCOW2 → RAW | For maximum performance | qemu-img convert -f qcow2 -O raw win10.qcow2 win10.raw |
| QCOW2 → VHDX | For Hyper-V | qemu-img convert -f qcow2 -O vhdx win10.qcow2 win10.vhdx |
| RAW → QCOW2 | To enable snapshots | qemu-img convert -f raw -O qcow2 win10.raw win10.qcow2 | | Test | qcow2 (virtio) | raw (virtio)
In the world of open-source virtualization, the QEMU Copy-On-Write (qcow2) format has become the gold standard for disk images. If you have ever searched for "Windows 10 qcow2," you are likely a developer, system administrator, or tech enthusiast trying to run Microsoft’s flagship operating system on a Linux host using KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine), QEMU, or Proxmox VE. Convert a raw or VMDK image to QCOW2:
Unlike the rigid, pre-allocated VHDX (Hyper-V) or VMDK (VMware) formats, the qcow2 format offers dynamic allocation, snapshotting, and compression. But finding or creating a ready-to-use Windows 10 qcow2 image is not as straightforward as downloading an ISO. This article will walk you through everything you need to know: what a qcow2 file is, how to obtain a Windows 10 qcow2 image, how to create one from scratch, and advanced optimization techniques.
The QCOW2 format is the native disk image type for KVM/QEMU virtualization. While Windows 10 does not natively boot from QCOW2 (it requires raw or VHDX for native boot), QCOW2 is the preferred format for hosted virtualization due to its thin provisioning, snapshots, and compression. This report covers optimal creation, driver integration (VirtIO), and performance tuning.
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