Windows 11 in a LINUX Virtual Machine. Full INSTALLATION Guide. Best integration into LINUX.

In this installation guide, I will show you how you can install Windows 11 on a KVM supported virtual machine on Linux. You will learn how to install the base system of Windows 11 and how to integrate Windows into your Linux desktop. With common clipboard usage and dynamic screen resolutions.
With this setup you can easily install every windows application like office 365 and MS Teams.
Don't miss PART 2 of the video about the deep integration of Windows 11 VM into your Linux with USB pass through, shared folders and RDP connection.
• WINDOWS 11 Virtual Mac...
Windows 11 has special system requirements. One of them is TPM 2.0. A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a specialized chip on a laptop or desktop computer that is designed to secure hardware with integrated cryptographic keys. It helps prove a user's identity and authenticates their device, providing security against threats like firmware and ransomware attacks.
support.microsoft.com/en-us/w...
And by installing swtpm Software TPM you can emulate the TPM Module on your virtual machine.
sudo pacman -S swtpm
Now we can download the Windows 11 ISO from microsoft.com.
www.microsoft.com/software-do...
Download the libvirt driver packages for Windows 11
github.com/virtio-win/virtio-...
Install the Spice Guest tools.
www.spice-space.org/download....
Learn how you can use Linux for your work.
Linux is a great Operating System (OS) to support me daily at my business. Linux is stable, fast and you can customize it to individual needs. In this channel, I want to share my setup of Arch Linux and show how I use my system as a daily driver.
My name is Stephan Raabe and I'm a Digital Marketing Professional with more than 20 years of experience in B2B Digital Marketing, computer science and web technologies.
This channel provides tutorials about Linux, the distribution Arch, window managers (e.g. Qtile) and desktop environments, and Microsoft 365 (Office 365) plus other cloud based services that I use in Digital Marketing activities.
Homepage:
www.ml4w.com
My Dotfiles for my Linux configuration:
gitlab.com/stephan-raabe/dotf...
Arch Installation Script:
gitlab.com/stephan-raabe/arch...
MyChatGPT Python Script:
gitlab.com/stephan-raabe/mych...

[@k.b.tidwell]

With typical and impressive German efficiency this man installs Win11 on Linux in (time jump) minutes, thereby completely bypassing every bit of the faffing about I've done forcing my Windows programs to run under WINE over the last two years. It feels like painfully copying the entire works of Shakespeare by hand and stumbling across a dude using a photocopier. Great job!

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks for your positive feedback. I went through the same exercise with Wine. Virtual Machines in Linux are the best and most flexible way to run any Windows app. But not only Windows. You can also run Linux on Linux, for testing or productive. Check the video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gafNdqaOebVkoM0

[@mylinuxforwork]

Don't miss PART 2 of the video about USB pass through, shared folders and RDP: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYernKmubr9_gMU If you like this video, please subscribe to my channel: 👉 www.youtube.com/@mylinuxforwork/?sub_confirmation=1

[@blackshadowhrd4518]

This is an amazingly good tutorial, I followed it and in less than half an hour I had a functioning Windows 11 virtual machine.

[@mylinuxforwork]

That’s great. Have fun with it.

[@MichelStumpf]

Ah men, that windows initial setup is a nightmare. I would recommend, to avoid using a MS account, to either disconnect the network from the VM until it's fully installed, using the option when it will ask to connect to internet (shift + F10 then "oobe\bypassnro"). Alternatively, setup it for work and don't add any domain so it will create a local account instead of using the MS one. Thanks for the advises on the rest of content, great stuff.

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thank you for the valuable additional information.

[@christopher1800]

Not sure if it still works, but Rufus has options so you can create an usb / iso that already has a local account built in. Also, it was able to install Windows 11 on a non / older TPM machine last time I tried.

[@andrewzimmer2296]

awesome, easy walkthrough! 1 more video guide to keep me on linux :)

[@mylinuxforwork]

👍

[@JJ-dz2ne]

Thank you for making this tutorial!!!

[@mylinuxforwork]

👍

[@christopher1800]

This is a more than excellent guide. Espessially the 'details' concerning virtio, tpm, and most importantly: the spice guest install which is a treat. :) By the way, if you have installed a SATA disk without virtio, it's quite easy to change it. Just make sure that Windows 'knows' about virtio beforehand, by adding a dummy SATA disk WITH virtio. Then boot into your Windows VM with that extra Hard Disk, and make sure it works by installing the virtio stuff inside the VM, as explained in this video. Then shut down the VM, and change the XML file of the boot Hard Disk to reflect the settings of the dummy disk (except for the image file of course which should stay the same). Make sure you create a backup of the XML and image file beforehand!

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks for your extremely valuable feedback.

[@Sudoakado]

Excellent mate cheers, great channel!

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thank you.

[@Erozegemen]

Das hier ist das bei Weitem beste Tutorial zur Win11 Installation auf Linux

[@mylinuxforwork]

Vielen Dank.

[@lionux6506]

So cool 👍🏻 Thanks 😊

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thank you.

[@Marc42]

Using Arch I see, awesome! 🤔

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks. BTW I use Arch. 😀

[@runnerlinux1474]

Thank you for your time and effort to guide us.

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks for your feedback.

[@osciuto]

Excellent guide, thanks for giving a complete idea of how to complete the installation and have all the possibilities of an installation like on a physical machine!

[@mylinuxforwork]

Can you write in English please? Thank you.

[@MrAntropex]

Hello Stephan, any good advice on how to backup your win11 (qcow2, xml) machine especially in regards to tpm etc. Maybe worth another video. Keep up the good contents ! 👍

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks you. Will definitely record a follow up on this topic.

[@A_G420]

Worked great but 1 issue, display resolution is greyed out, this means dynamic resolution won't work as well. Re-watching your video on setup I noticed in the virt setting under the video tab you have QXL selected for the "model" where by default it is Bochs. Is this because you have passthrough enabled for your GPU prior?

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks for your comment. You can use QXL independently from GPU passthrough. Only with QXL you can get the dynamic screen resolution. But you habe to enable the corresponding agent in the VM and have to install the vagent addition in the guest.

[@A_G420]

@@mylinuxforwork thanks for the heads up

[@gromeisterl2537]

i had the same problem. Its because if you only install quemu-base packet, the qxl option ist not working. You have to choose option 3 if you install the qemu package or install qemu-full after all. :)

[@clap7099]

Thank you

[@mylinuxforwork]

👍

[@igomesigomes]

Great walkthrough. Sorry for the newbie question, but I'm new to KVM. For some reason, I got no performance benefit by using virtio with my graphics card. Maybe it would only be noticeable when using two cards?

[@mylinuxforwork]

Yes. The performance boost comes with two cards if you passthrough the second card to the VM.

[@igomesigomes]

@@mylinuxforwork thanks. I will try to find my old 550ti card for that.

[@kevindidier4862]

Actually can't wait to see how to optimize it :D

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thank you. The video is coming soon.

[@mylinuxforwork]

The video about WIndows 11 VM integration and optimization is available now (USB pass through, shared folders and RDP): kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYernKmubr9_gMU

[@pjrock9547]

Can i follow the same steps for a steam deck oled. Im planning to use it as my linux pc (due to some weird reasons) your reply makes or breaks my decision of getting it

[@mylinuxforwork]

Never tried it before. Not sure if the performance would be enough. But as always with Linux, you have to try it out to be sure.

[@Jeff_Seely]

This is so much better performance than Virtualbox and this guide is flawless! Running into a bit of a snag getting the spice client to give me cut and paste functions as you demonstrated though...

[@mylinuxforwork]

My current preferred setup is using RDP to access the Windows VM. This will add Clipboard support and dynamic screen resolution out of the box. And in my opinion a slightly better graphic performance.

[@mylinuxforwork]

I'm using xfreerdp for seamless integration into Hyprland.

[@Jeff_Seely]

Steffan, thanks for the reply. I will read about it. And will probably install it tonight. What I really need is USB pass-through. I have a 9-pin sub d to USB adapter that I use to connect to factory automation and the software will only run in Windows. This would be a big help. Need to do some more reading on getting this up and running.

[@mylinuxforwork]

@@Jeff_Seely Thanks for your feedback. Passing through an USB interface is straight forward.

[@Jeff_Seely]

Great! I will review it and see how to enable it. Thank you Stephan!

[@abdoulayebalde2139]

thanks for this amazing video. I followed your way but for me when I load the iso and click finish, the option to chose the driver is not showing. what should I do for it to show?

[@mylinuxforwork]

What driver do you mean?

[@abdoulayebalde2139]

@@mylinuxforwork The one I downloaded on github but it's fine now only that when I follow all your steps it's not working at the end. it's showing shell in yello.

[@tehnokratgod]

May be in the next video you can show show some tips for video card sharing to VM? (Saw this thing in video of another content maker)

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks for your feedback. Yes, that’s the plan. On my computer, I have installed an AMD and Nvidia card. The AMD is used on my Linux Host. The Nvidia card is reserved for VM guests. One of my next videos will cover this setup of GPU passthrough.

[@tehnokratgod]

@@mylinuxforwork Thanks for your answer. It is also very interesting to know if you are using Hyperland?

[@mylinuxforwork]

@@tehnokratgod I have just released the new video about the Windows 11 VM integration into Linux (USB pass through, shared folders and RDP). GPU pass through is coming soon: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYernKmubr9_gMU

[@tehnokratgod]

@@mylinuxforwork Thank you! Will check it soon:)

[@blackshadowhrd4518]

One thing did not work for me though, at 13:29 you show how to allow the desktop to be scaled properly. On my machine the option "Auto resize VM with window" is greyed out. Any ideas where I am going wrong anyone?

[@mylinuxforwork]

Have you installed the spice guest tools correctly? Please switch off an reboot after the installation. Which graphics driver have you selected in virt-manager?

[@DavidC823]

how about away to make Linux primary boot if Windows 11 is installed and you want to keep all the files and setting? Be nice to do, image file and install it after you install Linux, or even a backup bit it will not move all your apps.

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks for your feedback.

[@obirkiro]

Hello Stephan, having a Windows operating system installed on a virtual machine is a great asset for those who understand its value. My issue lies with licensing. From Windows 8 activated with an original license to version 11, all operating systems prompt me to reactivate after some time and don't accept the license. Do you have any solution suggestions for this? I know it's a bit sensitive topic, thank you.

[@mylinuxforwork]

Unfortunately in Windows license questions I cannot help.

[@gallitOo88]

I will run win10 with a small i3-7100 in a virtual machine. Can i use the 4 cores ? How i can learn optimize this ?

[@mylinuxforwork]

This is something that you have to try out and find the share between Host and guest resources that works for you and your use cases. But that's the great thing of Virtual Machine that you can do it without risking your setup.

[@NoxesP]

Can you please provide us with the specific kvm/qemu packages that you installed? I'm facing issues with that, for example my clipboard is not integrating with the guest. Currently my installed ones are "qemu qemu-hw-display-qxl virt-manager dnsmasq vde2 bridge-utils openbsd-netcat". I'm only looking to download the required packages and not 'qemu-full' for example as that's upwards of 80 separate packages.

[@mylinuxforwork]

You can find all packages and steps to install here gitlab.com/stephan-raabe/archinstall/-/blob/main/7-kvm.sh?ref_type=heads

[@rickshawandy]

Do i need a cd rom to boot from a usb instead of cd rom?

[@mylinuxforwork]

@@rickshawandy You need to download the iso file of Windows 11 and put it in a virtual CD Rom.

[@rickshawandy]

@@mylinuxforwork Ok, thank you for taking the time to reply.

[@rickshawandy]

@@mylinuxforwork you know where I can find a video or instructions for making a virtual cd rom for Suse tumbleweed linux

[@QuijoteLibre]

It has helped me a lot, but I can't manage to share memory between Linux and Windows to copy and paste from one to the other.

[@mylinuxforwork]

Have you installed the required guest agent in Windows 11 and added the channel to your virt-manager org.qemu.guest_agent.0

[@QuijoteLibre]

@@mylinuxforwork Sorry I don´t added the channel. I don´t see it on video but i searching on the Web. Thanks

[@kyledupont7711]

If I do this will my network printer work without too much trouble?

[@mylinuxforwork]

Difficult to answer. Have no experience with network printers. Give it a try.

[@dmitrykulikovskykh9461]

Thanks a lot for your video! It was easy to follow and setup Win11 but I've an issue with clipboard it doesn't work in both ways and I think I found the reason why - Win11 have a problem with VirtIO drivers WHQL signatures and doesn't want to accept them. Do you know any workaround? Thanks! PS: Just found the solution. Everything is working - thanks again! )

[@mylinuxforwork]

Great.

[@gromeisterl2537]

Had the same kind of problem, i had to do this "The needed devices can be added from the virtual machine details. Click on "Add hardware" and then add a "Channel" device with type "Spice agent (spicevmc)". This will automatically add the needed virtio-serial device in addition to the spicevmc channel."

[@AdhilAmeen13]

Do I have to install swtpm if I have hardware-based TPM?

[@mylinuxforwork]

I assume yes. Because you have to emulate the hardware on your linux system.

[@AdhilAmeen13]

@@mylinuxforwork Ok, thanks for the reply.

[@jeannuel]

How good is this virtualization for gaming?

[@mylinuxforwork]

You can only play games with a good performance if you pass through a second GPU to the VM.

[@ionelpetcu9263]

Hi there, good job! Only one problem for me, but it is a big one: I do log into my Microsoft account (successfully) but my OS is not activated. How to overcome this? Thank you!

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thank you. You need an activation key. Using Windows 11 requires a valid license for every installation. The Microsoft account is not enough. There are many videos on KZbin explaining the Windows activation requirements and procedures.

[@ionelpetcu9263]

@@mylinuxforwork Thank you for your reply! I do have a valid licence obtained by upgrading for win 7 to win 10, an finally to win 11. On a standard setup, my OS is activated by a licence linked to my Microsoft account. I will search for more infos on the Internet.

[@StephanRaabeVideos]

@@ionelpetcu9263 As far as I know, you can’t share a license between different systems. It’s not based on your account.

[@mylinuxforwork]

@@ionelpetcu9263 As far as I know, you can’t share licenses between systems. Every system needs a dedicated license.

[@ionelpetcu9263]

@@mylinuxforwork If by SYSTEM you mean hardware, this is true for the OEM license. But if you own a retail one, the limitation is to use only one installation at a time, on only one machine. My license is retail and I'm not on dual boot, but Linux only. Anyway, this dialog is off topic, the tutorial is excellent. Thank you!

[@henri5978]

How is your VM so smooth? Mine is very laggy.

[@mylinuxforwork]

Depends on the hardware. It's never like bare metal except you're setting up GPU passthrough.

[@rndofpipowe]

There is one simple question: why I have to install Windows in Linux VM if I can use Windows on bare metal with no gap of performance and usability? :)

[@mylinuxforwork]

Very good question. I prefer to avoid dual boot. Because my main platform is Linux and with a VM I can switch easily to Windows when needed without stopping my Linux workflow.

[@jozsefk9]

How to pass through a USB printer from Linux host to Windows 11 inside KVM?

[@mylinuxforwork]

Hi. Thanks for your question. Can you try this? www.linux-kvm.org/page/USB_Host_Device_Assigned_to_Guest

[@mylinuxforwork]

There is also a dedicated entry in the window running your Wondows VM very you can temporarily passthrough an USB device.

[@jozsefk9]

@@mylinuxforwork I'll try. Thank you

[@mylinuxforwork]

@@jozsefk9 Hi. I have just released the new video including USB pass through. With this you can pass through a USB printer into your Windows 11 VM. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYernKmubr9_gMU

[@jozsefk9]

@@mylinuxforwork Thank you. I'll have a look.

[@AshwinSKumar]

I am on Virtio driver, does spice guest tools work?

[@mylinuxforwork]

Should work.

[@AshwinSKumar]

@@mylinuxforwork I am not able to make my VM full screen please help

[@AshwinSKumar]

Can I run Unity, Maya 3D, and Adobe with it

[@mylinuxforwork]

@@AshwinSKumar Pretty sure that the graphics performance will not fit to your expectations. For those GPU hungry programs I would suggest to passthrough a second graphics card to the VM.

[@AshwinSKumar]

@@mylinuxforwork okay

[@thewizard5716]

When I try to download files from my browser, it instantly fails and doesnt let me download. Any solutions?

[@mylinuxforwork]

Hi. Which files do you mean?

[@thewizard5716]

@@mylinuxforwork Like when I go on the browser and try to download something, anything it automatically fails but all the downloads through the terminal works.

[@MundaneMuser]

Spice Guest tools doesn't work, but thanks for the guide.

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks for your feedback.

[@christopher1800]

It works fine for me... I installed it yesterday. But strangely enough, I had to install it twice... which makes me think something must have failed the first time.

[@fortheloveoflapse8733]

The usb pass-through and copy paste is not working no matter how many times I go through this video.

[@mylinuxforwork]

Hi. Difficult to bugfix from my side. Can you check the manual on this page? www.linux-kvm.org/page/USB_Host_Device_Assigned_to_Guest

[@NipunDrall]

That's some German engineering right there.

[@mylinuxforwork]

👍

[@ilija_]

If anyone is watching in future, at Microsoft login screen setting email and password as just letter a skips it.

[@mylinuxforwork]

👍

[@l00p]

Thank you for the guide. Going through the installation process reminded me why I stopped using Windows in the first place. Absolutely vile.

[@mylinuxforwork]

Thanks.

[@gustavojoaquin_arch]

3:19 it better use a modified lightweight windows version

[@mylinuxforwork]

What lightweight windows version do you mean?

[@kallekula84]

This guide wasn't working for me. There must be a step missing to set up libvert properly as my virt-manager is complaining that i can't create a new connection because "no active connection to install on". Using Arch with Hyprland. >>Unable to connect to libvirt qemu:///system. >> >>Failed to connect socket to '/var/run/libvirt/virtqemud-sock': No such file or directory >> >>Libvirt URI is: qemu:///system

[@kallekula84]

The missing step was to first check if libvert.d is running $ systemctl status libvirtd >> ... inactive ... $ systemctl start libvirtd >> ... active ...

[@mylinuxforwork]

Great. Thanks for your feedback.