Windows 98 Qcow2 «DELUXE»

Open your terminal. Do not use a raw disk; embrace qcow2.

qemu-img create -f qcow2 windows98_se.qcow2 8G

Why 8GB? Windows 98 cannot natively see partitions larger than 127GB without FAT32 hacks, and 8GB keeps the allocation table small and fast. windows 98 qcow2

Replace -vga cirrus with:

-device vmware-svga

Then install VMware SVGA II drivers for Win98. Open your terminal

You have two options: build it yourself or download a pre-made image. Why 8GB

Assume you have a perfect install at base.qcow2. To create a new child image:

qemu-img create -f qcow2 -b base.qcow2 -F qcow2 my_game_vm.qcow2

This 100KB file acts as a full 4GB drive. Writes go to my_game_vm.qcow2; reads come from base.qcow2. You can run 10 games simultaneously without duplicating the OS files.