7qcow2 Best ^hot^ — Windows

Do not use raw or VMDK. Use qcow2 with VirtIO drivers and preallocation=metadata . Expect to manually load the VirtIO storage driver during Windows 7 setup. If you skip that, you will get extremely poor disk performance.

Despite Microsoft ending extended support for Windows 7 in January 2020, millions of legacy applications, industrial control systems, and proprietary enterprise software still depend on it. Running Windows 7 on modern hardware is risky, but running it inside a virtual machine (VM) is the perfect solution—isolated, portable, and manageable. windows 7qcow2 best

during installation to allow Windows to communicate directly with the host's hardware. The Installation Trick Do not use raw or VMDK