Inside Windows, you can then run the "Defragment and Optimize Drives" utility, which will send a TRIM command to shrink the physical size of the QCOW2 file back down. 3. Spice Guest Tools
: Deleting files inside Windows does not shrink the disk automatically. Fix : Defragment the guest drive, then use qemu-img :
qemu-img create -f qcow2 -o cluster_size=64k,preallocation=falloc win10arm.qcow2 40G
Windows lacks native drivers for QEMU’s high-performance storage and network interfaces. Download the latest stable . Ensure the ISO contains the ARM64 driver subdirectories (specifically for viostor , viorng , and NetKVM ). 4. Initialize the QEMU Virtual Machine windows 10 arm qcow2
Note: After resizing, boot back into Windows and use the built-in tool to extend the main system partition into the newly created unallocated space.
Windows 10 on ARM is Microsoft’s effort to bring the Windows desktop experience to ARM-based SoCs, offering long battery life and always-on connectivity while preserving many Windows applications through emulation. Running Windows 10 ARM inside a virtual machine often uses QEMU/KVM and the qcow2 disk image format — a combination that’s flexible but requires attention to a few platform-specific details.
For years, the dream was to run a "real" desktop OS on a pocket-sized device. When Microsoft released , it didn't just target laptops like the Surface Pro X ; it inadvertently gave hobbyists the perfect tool to experiment on non-PC hardware. 2. The File Format Bridge: VHDX to QCOW2 Inside Windows, you can then run the "Defragment
→ Your Qcow2 lacks UEFI firmware. Append:
You need QEMU_EFI.fd to handle the ARM boot process.
-drive if=none,id=system,format=qcow2,file=windows10_arm.qcow2,cache=none,discard=unmap Use code with caution. Fix Common Blue Screen Loops (BSOD) Fix : Defragment the guest drive, then use
Note: You will need to obtain OVMF_CODE.fd and OVMF_VARS.fd from your distribution's OVMF package. Installation Steps:
: Windows 10 ARM’s x86 emulation is single-threaded and CPU-intensive. Fix : Allocate more CPU cores (but no more than the host’s physical cores). Disable “Windows Sandbox” and “Virtualization-Based Security”.
Which (e.g., UTM, QEMU command line, libvirt/virt-manager) you plan to run. The primary workload you intend to run inside the VM. Share public link