Windows 98, released in 1998, was a popular operating system that marked a significant milestone in the evolution of Microsoft Windows. Although it's been over two decades since its release, Windows 98 still holds a special place in the hearts of many retro computing enthusiasts and nostalgic users. With the advent of virtualization technology, it's now possible to run Windows 98 on modern hardware, and one of the most convenient ways to do so is by creating a Windows 98 QCOW2 image.
Run the following command to boot from your ISO. We use the sb16 (Sound Blaster 16) and cirrus logic cards, as Windows 98 has built-in drivers for these: qemu-system-i386 -m 256 -hda win98.qcow2 -cdrom windows98se.iso -boot d -soundhw sb16 -vga cirrus
Windows 98 does not understand modern multi-core processors or massive amounts of RAM. Allocating too much memory will cause a "Windows Protection Error" during boot. Use this optimized launch script to start the installation: windows 98 qcow2
What are you running (Windows, macOS, or Linux)?
If you're interested in learning more about Windows 98, QCOW2, and QEMU, here are some additional resources: Windows 98, released in 1998, was a popular
Compile code in old versions of Visual Basic or Borland C++.
If you need to transfer files or browse legacy websites, you need networking. While the pcnet driver we specified is excellent, Windows 98 does not always pick it up automatically. Run the following command to boot from your ISO
: Use -vga cirrus or -vga std for basic compatibility .
: Use projects like the Windows 98 QuickInstall or unofficial Service Pack 3 to fix common QEMU-related hangs and crashes .