: If your host storage supports it, enabling the "discard" option allows Windows 8 to tell the QCOW2 image to free up physical space when files are deleted within the VM. specific commands to create a Windows 8 QCOW2 image or a guide on installing the necessary drivers Windows and FreeBSD guests: qcow2 vs raw?
qemu-img convert -f raw -O qcow2 windows8.img windows8.qcow2 windows 8 qcow2
By default, QEMU ensures data integrity, but this slows down Windows 8. Add cache=writeback to your drive line: : If your host storage supports it, enabling
Then there is the driver dilemma. Windows 8 does not natively understand VirtIO, the paravirtualized driver framework used by QEMU for optimal performance. To get decent network speeds and disk I/O, the user must inject VirtIO drivers into the Windows 8 ISO before installation or load them during the setup process via a virtual floppy or secondary disk. Add cache=writeback to your drive line: Then there