I rubbed my temples. Finding a replacement hard drive for a 25-year-old proprietary workstation was possible, but not in 24 hours. Installing Windows 98 on modern hardware was a nightmare of driver incompatibilities and BIOS settings.
Windows 98 remains a nostalgia-rich OS for hobbyists, retro gamers, and preservationists. QCOW2 (QEMU Copy-On-Write v2) is a flexible virtual disk format widely used with QEMU/KVM that supports sparse storage, snapshots, and compression. Combining the two lets you run Windows 98 inside modern virtualized environments while keeping disk images compact, portable, and snapshot-capable. This article explains why you might choose QCOW2 for Windows 98, practical setup steps, performance and compatibility considerations, and preservation tips. windows 98 qcow2
This paper explores the feasibility and methodology of archiving and running the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system using the QCOW2 (QEMU Copy-On-Write) disk format. While Windows 98 is legacy software designed for IDE mechanical hard drives, modern virtualization requires specific configurations to bridge the gap between legacy BIOS expectations and modern QEMU hardware emulation. This document outlines the creation of the disk image, the installation hurdles, and critical performance optimizations regarding video and input latency. I rubbed my temples
Working with vintage systems like Windows 98 in a virtual environment can be a fun way to relive old computing experiences or explore software development history. However, be aware that older systems may have significant security implications if exposed to modern networks or exploits. Isolate them appropriately. Windows 98 remains a nostalgia-rich OS for hobbyists,