Setting up KVM?

[Bill Davidsen]

kwhiskerz wrote:
> How did you ever get Windows XP Pro loaded?
> 
> I have an upgrade version or Windows XP Home, an upgrade version of Windows 
> 98se, and a full version of Windows 95.
> 
> Windows XP boots fine in qemu-kvm, ut it asks that I insert a previous version 
> as proof. I do so, using 'eject (-f) cdrom' to change the CD. Windows XP 
> tells me this is not a valid version. I have tried it with both Win98se and 
> Win95.
> 
> I have also tried installing Win98se and Win95, but qemu-kvm and 
> libvirtmanager both run briefly, just a flash and crash. So fast that I can 
> just barely see some output. The valid Windows disks, 98se and 95, do not 
> seem to be recognized. I have tried to make images of them, but the result is 
> the same. Windows XP boots fine, but I am not able to validate it with my 
> valid previous versions.
> 
No problem, but you will not like the solution... it seems that 95 and 
98 were still Windows running on top of DOS, and as such they do some 
things in real mode which kvm can't handle. Avi Kitti (sp?) says it will 
be fixed but is really low on the to-do list.

The solution is to run just using qemu, which will work just fine, 
although a bit slowly. The emulation is faster than the computers we 
were running in that era, so it only feels so bad because we're spoiled now.

> I have been working on this problem for weeks, have searched myriad different 
> sites, but there is no information available. So how did you get Windows 
> installed in the first place?
> 
You may have to do the whole thing in emulation (plain qemu) mode, 
although once you get XP installed it should run in normal mode. This 
might work better in xen (gave up on that a year ago, for the moment), 
or VMware. Win95 would install under Xenix and VMware a decade ago or 
so, I assume it still works.

-- 
Bill Davidsen <davidsen at tmr.com>
   "We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from
the machinations of the wicked."  - from Slashdot