https://linux-kvm.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=JonathonReinhartKVM - User contributions [en]2026-04-05T23:14:57ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.39.5https://linux-kvm.org/index.php?title=Windows7Install&diff=173389Windows7Install2015-08-24T19:31:14Z<p>JonathonReinhart: Update URL to official Windows VirtIO drivers page</p>
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<div>= Introduction =<br />
Some facts:<br />
* Installing Windows 7 with IDE drivers require about 12 hours (qemu-kvm 0.12.5)<br />
* Windows 7 can be installed with virtio disk (requires guest drivers during installation)<br />
* Windows 7 64-bit requires signed drivers (available from August 2010 - thanks to RedHat)<br />
* Installation with virtio drivers works well, but Windows might not reboot at the end (see troubleshooting)<br />
<br />
Signed guest drivers are available here:<br />
* https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Windows_Virtio_Drivers<br />
<br />
= Installation steps =<br />
* Download the guest drivers<br />
* Configure the virtual disk as virtio<br />
* Start the installation<br />
** When the installer asks you to select a drive, load the virtio driver (viostor)<br />
** The installation should take 45 to 60 minutes<br />
<br />
If you don't want to swap the CD, configure 2 CD-ROMs. Use the guest drivers as first CD-ROM, and Windows installation disk as second, else it won't boot.<br />
<br />
Once installed, if you did choose virtio for the network card, you will also need to update the driver.<br />
<br />
= Troubleshooting =<br />
<br />
== Cannot boot - broken MBR ==<br />
Upon reboot, the screen displays: <br />
<div style="border:1px solid gray; background:black;color:white;padding: 10px;width:500px;"><br />
<pre><br />
Starting SeaBIOS (version 0.5.1-20100825_131917-polaris)<br />
<br />
Booting from Hard Disk...<br />
</pre><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<br />
The libvirt log shows<br />
<pre><br />
kvm: unhandled exit 80000021<br />
kvm_run returned -22<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
The solution is to reinstall the MBR. Here is a very good tutorial for doing this: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/20864-mbr-restore-windows-7-master-boot-record.html</div>JonathonReinhart