I got Win7 installed with the instructions by Ghunter in the XEN forum.  All was going great until I tried to use the DVD player and like everyone else I hit the roadblock, so I continued on my quest.

 

      Then I decided to try the KVM, which seems to be the answer, however, I started following the instructions through the first two install steps and hit another brick wall.  Seems like from there everyone was trying to connect to Win thru the VNC viewer, but I can't seem to figure out the Windows installation.

 

    I see the Window setup screen, can I use the Win7x64.iso from my VMs file that I set up on my cache disk when I setup it up in XEN (XEN is currently turned off) or do I need to start from scratch with the iso from the dvd.

 

    Which part of the Windows virtio drivers do I use, do I install them from an iso like Win7?

 

    Are these files, isos, xml, and drivers setup in the cache drive, or where do they get setup at?

 

    I have NO XML file experience except to edit  XML templates.  My build is new so I'm not worrying about throwing anything out of whack, just tryin to get up and running.  Is there a good template to start out with that can be doctored.  I see plenty of snippets, but not quite sure how to put them together..

 

    I'm kinda really lost, so any step by step installation sure would be appreciated.

 

Thanks, Dave

You will need to download the windows virtio drivers. It can be obtained from here as an iso image: http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/WindowsGuestDrivers/Download_Drivers

 

In the xml file you will have two iso's: win71 iso & virtio iso

 

1. Use Win71 iso as boot and during installation, use browse for drivers option, go to the virt iso drive and load up the drivers in AMD64 directory

2. After installation of Windows, shutdown the kvm and change the boot to 'hd' which should be pointing to the qcow2 image.

 

I do not have access to my machine currently but you can get a simple xml file for this from these forums.

 

The process is fairly simple but could be time consuming if you are trying to figure out the first time. Ping again here if you get stuck or need the xml files.

 

    I got Win7 installed with the instructions by Ghunter in the XEN forum.  All was going great until I tried to use the DVD player and like everyone else I hit the roadblock, so I continued on my quest.

 

      Then I decided to try the KVM, which seems to be the answer, however, I started following the instructions through the first two install steps and hit another brick wall.  Seems like from there everyone was trying to connect to Win thru the VNC viewer, but I can't seem to figure out the Windows installation.

 

    I see the Window setup screen, can I use the Win7x64.iso from my VMs file that I set up on my cache disk when I setup it up in XEN (XEN is currently turned off) or do I need to start from scratch with the iso from the dvd.

 

    Which part of the Windows virtio drivers do I use, do I install them from an iso like Win7?

 

    Are these files, isos, xml, and drivers setup in the cache drive, or where do they get setup at?

 

    I have NO XML file experience except to edit  XML templates.  My build is new so I'm not worrying about throwing anything out of whack, just tryin to get up and running.  Is there a good template to start out with that can be doctored.  I see plenty of snippets, but not quite sure how to put them together..

 

    I'm kinda really lost, so any step by step installation sure would be appreciated.

 

Thanks, Dave

This is where I'm at.  I have Win7x64 iso and the Virtio drivers iso on a CD, however, they are not seen on the "Create VM" screen from my cd player (USB).  This didn't happen on the Xen install because the XML forced the cd to be seen. ('file:/mnt/cache/VMs/Windows7/Win7x64.iso,hdc:cdrom,r').  Same with the drivers.  How do I make this happen?

 

I see reference to a "create Template section", but I can't find it, would the template allow the dvd/cd player to be seen?

 

Is this the template: Posted by JustinCase on 30October?

 

Where can I find all the fill in's, this is daunting to this old guy!

 

Dave

kristisdad - I think it would be easier if you make iso soft copies of both the files. In my limited experience, I am not aware of anyone who has installed them through the cdrom. I prefer the command line definitions, see whether these help you. I have indicated line numbers to highlight what you need to change using my xml file copied below. I use notepad++ for Windows editing and it is a gnu/freeware download.

 

0. Download and install "Virtual Machine Management" and "Libvirt support" plugins by dmacias72. See this thread for info: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=35858.0. Once this is installed, you may have to reboot (I am unsure). After proper installation you will see a "KVM" tab on the top of the unraid GUI in between "Docker" and "Tools". I typically use xml's to make my KVM's. To manually add a kvm using xml file, click on KVM > "Add XML" and copy paste the xml's to define a kvm. You can see defined kvm's in KVM > "Virtual Machines". Here you can start, stop or change vcpu's and memory for the defined kvm's. There is also an option to create a kvm using a GUI in KVM > "Create VM". You may find working with gui easier but the steps below are mostly outlined working with a xml.

 

1. to make qcow2 file for Win7 installation:

qemu-img create -f qcow2 Win7x64.qcow2 20G

 

2. Download the iso image of the virtio drivers from my post earlier

 

3. make or download an iso image of the Win7

 

4. I am  copying an xml below. In this xml file, change the location of the (1)-line #34, (2)-line #40 and (3)-line #46 corresponding to where you have saved the files.

Note: Line #17 has <boot dev='cdrom'/>. This will boot into win iso installation.

 

5. When you proceed toward installation, you will get a prompt for drivers. Chose "have disk" or something like "browse" and navigate to the drive that is shown as a mount for (2) iso. I think you need to navigate to the AMD64 drivers folders and when selected, the virtio drivers will be installed.

 

6. The qcow2 file you created for Win7 installation will show up as a drive for Windows installation. Chose this and proceed with installation.

 

7. After all the installation is done, shutdown the vm. For shutting down the vm, use the GUI. You can either edit the xml file or make a new one. Change line #17 to <boot dev='hd'/>. Start the vm.

 

8. For logging into the kvm machine you can either use vnc or remote desktop. I personally prefer Windows remote desktop (RD) since this works quite well even with VNC disabled when you passthrough a video card. For RD, make sure you name the machine something easy and you can just use this name to remote desktop into.

 

Win7 installation xml file:

<domain type='kvm' xmlns:qemu='http://libvirt.org/schemas/domain/qemu/1.0'>
  <name>win-install</name>
  <uuid>0b001083-f7ad-48a9-b298-6ed0afed515a</uuid>
  <description>win-install</description>
  <memory unit='KiB'>2097152</memory>
  <currentMemory unit='KiB'>1953125</currentMemory>
  <memoryBacking>
    <nosharepages/>
    <locked/>
  </memoryBacking>
  <vcpu placement='static'>2</vcpu>
  <resource>
    <partition>/machine</partition>
  </resource>
  <os>
    <type arch='x86_64' machine='pc-q35-2.1'>hvm</type>
    <boot dev='cdrom'/>
    <bootmenu enable='yes'/>
  </os>
  <features>
    <acpi/>
    <apic/>
  </features>
  <cpu mode='host-passthrough'>
  </cpu>
  <clock offset='localtime'/>
  <on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff>
  <on_reboot>restart</on_reboot>
  <on_crash>restart</on_crash>
  <devices>
    <emulator>/usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64</emulator>
    <disk type='file' device='cdrom'>
      <driver name='qemu' type='raw'/>
      <source file='/mnt/disk/SSD1/vm/media/Windows81Pro.iso'/>
      <target dev='sdd' bus='sata'/>
      <readonly/>
    </disk>
    <disk type='file' device='cdrom'>
      <driver name='qemu' type='raw'/>
      <source file='/mnt/disk/SSD1/vm/media/virtio-win-0.1-81.iso'/>
      <target dev='sde' bus='sata'/>
      <readonly/>
    </disk>
    <disk type='file' device='disk'>
      <driver name='qemu' type='qcow2' cache='none' io='native'/>
      <source file='/mnt/disk/SSD1/vm/image/Win7x64.qcow2'/>
      <target dev='vdc' bus='virtio'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x02' slot='0x03' function='0x0'/>
    </disk>

    <controller type='ide' index='0'>
    </controller>
    <controller type='sata' index='0'>
    </controller>
    <controller type='pci' index='0' model='pcie-root'>
    </controller>
    <controller type='pci' index='1' model='dmi-to-pci-bridge'>
    </controller>
    <controller type='pci' index='2' model='pci-bridge'>
    </controller>

   <interface type='bridge'>
      <source bridge='br0'/>
      <model type='virtio'/>
    </interface>

    <serial type='pty'>
      <source path='/dev/pts/2'/>
      <target port='0'/>
    </serial>

    <console type='pty' tty='/dev/pts/2'>
      <source path='/dev/pts/2'/>
      <target type='serial' port='0'/>
    </console>

    <input type='mouse' bus='ps2'/>

    <graphics type='vnc' port='5901' autoport='yes' listen='10.10.1.121' keymap='en-us'>
      <listen type='address' address='10.10.1.121'/>
    </graphics>

    <video>
      <model type='cirrus' vram='9216' heads='1'/>
    </video>

    <memballoon model='virtio'>
    </memballoon>

  </devices>
</domain>

 

I believe the vm's are recognized by uuid's. If you make a new xml file, ensure it has a unique uuid not defined in your other kvm's. The uuid's can be generated easily here: https://www.uuidgenerator.net/

 

This is where I'm at.  I have Win7x64 iso and the Virtio drivers iso on a CD, however, they are not seen on the "Create VM" screen from my cd player (USB).  This didn't happen on the Xen install because the XML forced the cd to be seen. ('file:/mnt/cache/VMs/Windows7/Win7x64.iso,hdc:cdrom,r').  Same with the drivers.  How do I make this happen?

 

I see reference to a "create Template section", but I can't find it, would the template allow the dvd/cd player to be seen?

 

Is this the template: Posted by JustinCase on 30October?

 

Where can I find all the fill in's, this is daunting to this old guy!

 

Dave

This is where I'm at.  I have Win7x64 iso and the Virtio drivers iso on a CD, however, they are not seen on the "Create VM" screen from my cd player (USB).  This didn't happen on the Xen install because the XML forced the cd to be seen. ('file:/mnt/cache/VMs/Windows7/Win7x64.iso,hdc:cdrom,r').  Same with the drivers.  How do I make this happen?

 

I see reference to a "create Template section", but I can't find it, would the template allow the dvd/cd player to be seen?

 

Is this the template: Posted by JustinCase on 30October?

 

Where can I find all the fill in's, this is daunting to this old guy!

 

Dave

 

If your using the latest dynamix version in the Create VM tab, the install image and drivers image look for files with extension iso or ISO.  And the Existing Disk looks for qcow2, qcow, img. If you have the files on a cd you should be able to browse to the location if you have it mounted.

 

Once you have everything selected and you click Create VM, you should be able to VNC (eye icon) into the vm from the Virtual Machines tab. The virtio drivers will be available temporarily during the first run of the vm as a second cdrom.

 

The first running state of the vm has boot from cdrom and drivers cdrom loaded but the saved xml does not and the vm image is set as boot device.

 

For reference there is also a link on the Create VM page to download the latest drivers.

 

Edit: Everything htpcnewbie said will be done automatically from the Create VM tab if you can point it to the iso files.  I  have a share on my array named media that has all the cdrom images in it for windows, linux, etc.

I'm doing something wrong, you guys posted and it all made sense to me until I went to work.

 

I currently have the Win7.iso and the virtio.iso on both cd and flash drive. So I say, let's do it, I put my flash drives each in a USB port (2.0), boot up unraid. KVM, virtman, libvirt running, all systems go!  Go to the "Create VM", go to install image, no USB showing, go to virtio drivers (iso), no USB showing.

I'm looking at htpcnewbie, "<source file='/mnt/disk/SSD1/vm/media/Windows81Pro.iso'/>" and "<source file='/mnt/disk/SSD1/vm/media/virtio-win-0.1-81.iso'/>" and it looks like the files are already SSD drive equivalent to my cache drive (also I just named it cache instead of SSD).  My question is "How in the heck did you get these iso's from cd/Flash drive onto your cache drive/SSD.  This is the obstacle I can't seem to get over, everything else makes sense to me if only I could get that far.

 

Thanks, guys for the help so far….Dave

 

Edited by me, I'm over thinking, I'm downloading directly to an image file I created on my cache drive, is this correct?  We'll find out…..

Yeah,  just use the iso files that you have downloaded on your computer. You can also use imgburn Windows software to burn to iso from cdrom.

I'm doing something wrong, you guys posted and it all made sense to me until I went to work.

 

I currently have the Win7.iso and the virtio.iso on both cd and flash drive. So I say, let's do it, I put my flash drives each in a USB port (2.0), boot up unraid. KVM, virtman, libvirt running, all systems go!  Go to the "Create VM", go to install image, no USB showing, go to virtio drivers (iso), no USB showing.

I'm looking at htpcnewbie, "<source file='/mnt/disk/SSD1/vm/media/Windows81Pro.iso'/>" and "<source file='/mnt/disk/SSD1/vm/media/virtio-win-0.1-81.iso'/>" and it looks like the files are already SSD drive equivalent to my cache drive (also I just named it cache instead of SSD).  My question is "How in the heck did you get these iso's from cd/Flash drive onto your cache drive/SSD.  This is the obstacle I can't seem to get over, everything else makes sense to me if only I could get that far.

 

Thanks, guys for the help so far….Dave

 

Edited by me, I'm over thinking, I'm downloading directly to an image file I created on my cache drive, is this correct?  We'll find out…..

 

I'm doing something wrong, you guys posted and it all made sense to me until I went to work.

 

I currently have the Win7.iso and the virtio.iso on both cd and flash drive. So I say, let's do it, I put my flash drives each in a USB port (2.0), boot up unraid. KVM, virtman, libvirt running, all systems go!  Go to the "Create VM", go to install image, no USB showing, go to virtio drivers (iso), no USB showing.

I'm looking at htpcnewbie, "<source file='/mnt/disk/SSD1/vm/media/Windows81Pro.iso'/>" and "<source file='/mnt/disk/SSD1/vm/media/virtio-win-0.1-81.iso'/>" and it looks like the files are already SSD drive equivalent to my cache drive (also I just named it cache instead of SSD).  My question is "How in the heck did you get these iso's from cd/Flash drive onto your cache drive/SSD.  This is the obstacle I can't seem to get over, everything else makes sense to me if only I could get that far.

 

Thanks, guys for the help so far….Dave

 

Edited by me, I'm over thinking, I'm downloading directly to an image file I created on my cache drive, is this correct?  We'll find out…..

You can go to the settings tab and change the default media directory to /boot/ if you want to use your unRAID flash drive.  But I would just copy the images to your unRAID system through the network.

htpcnewbie and dmacias, Thank You, you guys rock!  Win7 is up and running like a champ.  Not as clean a file directories as I would like, but this is totally a learning curve for me, I'll worry about the petty stuff when I setup as a main server.

 

Now it seems I'm in the same spot I was in with Xen.  All I have is my onboard audio, so I guess I'll have to figure out how to pass this through to windows, is that what passthrough is?

 

And I'm back to that pesky DVD/CD usb rom, so I can use Makemkv to add files to my drives.  Can't see how a guy can have the ultimate HTPC without this capability.

 

Again, any and all help would be appreciated, where the heck do I start?

 

Thanks Again, Dave

 

Do you think a usb controller card would help with this, I noticed it in other posts...

Glad you got it working. In my signature there is a link to a thread where I have the xml for win8.1. In that xml I pass through audio,  video and the corresponding pcie controller for USB ports. I initially started off with win7 but switched to win8.1 since I wanted to pass through USB Pci controller and I couldn't do that with win7 on my setup.

 

I saw a thread about passing through cdeom, jonp was helping figure out the details. Passing through audio and video should work without much effort.

htpcnewbie and dmacias, Thank You, you guys rock!  Win7 is up and running like a champ.  Not as clean a file directories as I would like, but this is totally a learning curve for me, I'll worry about the petty stuff when I setup as a main server.

 

Now it seems I'm in the same spot I was in with Xen.  All I have is my onboard audio, so I guess I'll have to figure out how to pass this through to windows, is that what passthrough is?

 

And I'm back to that pesky DVD/CD usb rom, so I can use Makemkv to add files to my drives.  Can't see how a guy can have the ultimate HTPC without this capability.

 

Again, any and all help would be appreciated, where the heck do I start?

 

Thanks Again, Dave

 

Do you think a usb controller card would help with this, I noticed it in other posts...

 

Appreciate that.  I've been reading through that thread, will probably start playing with it this evening.  I guess I might switch to Win8.  Which should I use 8 or 8.1?  Is one more versatile than the other?  Which one has more support?

 

So now I should be able to use the Plex and XBMC as plugins?

 

Just random thoughts.....Dave

I bought a Win 8.1 license since my attempts with Win7 for pcie passthrough weren't working, time to debug this issue was getting to be more precious than the price of a Win8.1 license. That being said, I do not have experience with Win8. I imagine Win8.1 has better support than Win8 but all Win8 licenses should work for Win 8.1, isn't that a free upgrade?

 

With Win7, I did not have any trouble with the audio and video passthrough. They work fine! Also usb devices passthrough using the device id's work fine. The problem with Win7 in my case was passing the entire pcie controller on which the usb devices reside. A quick primer on this- there are two ways to pass through the usb devices, first using usb device id and second passing the entire pcie controller of the usb device. In the former, you need to specify apriori which device you want to passthrough. In the latter, any device that is plugged into that controller gets passed through -  a truly plug n play device port. For passing though a pci device, you need to vfio-bind the device address. Once you identify this address you can put that in the /boot/config/go file so that it gets vfio-bind every time a reboot occurs. For passing through the videocard and audio, you need to do this and that's where the vfio-bind references occur. Beware that once you vfio-bind an address, Unraid cannot see that pci device and you will need to reboot.

 

The plugins are in Unraid and not dependent on the KVM. Are you planning to install Plex and XBMC in the Windows KVM? I am using Plex docker and it works perfectly. I haven't tried XBMC plugin or docker. There is an active discussion about installing a headless XBMC docker and I believe it is still under development. I have XBMC (known as Kodi now) installed in my Win8.1 and works well. However, my primary HTPC media organizer is J River Media Center.

 

Appreciate that.  I've been reading through that thread, will probably start playing with it this evening.  I guess I might switch to Win8.  Which should I use 8 or 8.1?  Is one more versatile than the other?  Which one has more support?

 

So now I should be able to use the Plex and XBMC as plugins?

 

Just random thoughts.....Dave

I'm sitting at work, reading your post.  So you added a pcie usb port card to your mobo and pass it (the whole card) through to win8.1 and this way it doesn't mess with the unRaid OS.  Am I reading that right?  If so, what usb card are you using, our boards are somewhat the same, so I might have to make a run to MicroCenter for a card and Win8.1.

 

Thanks...Dave

Depending upon the motherboard, the in-built usb ports are on few pcie controllers. I did not add a card, I passed the in-built Intel USB controller to KVM (ASMedia controller passthrough did not work for me). If you can identify and map out which usb ports reside on what controllers, you can pass a specific controller corresponding to those usb ports needed in Windows KVM. The thread linked in signature shows a suggested approach by "archedraft" on how you can identify usb ports and its controllers. In some cases, it may not work and that's when an add-on usb pci card would be helpful. I have seen users who have been able to passthrough pci in Win7 as well, I do not think you can tell whether it will not work before trying. I recommend you passthrough the video and audio using your current Win7 setup and see what it can't do before buying additional hardware. To that effect, assume this Win7 may not be used and spend the effort in setting up the KVM, you can translate this Win7 KVM setup xml file easily to Win 8.1 if needed. Windows 8.1 Pro education license is $69 if any of your kids are in college/school (after verifying their academic email addr).

 

I'm sitting at work, reading your post.  So you added a pcie usb port card to your mobo and pass it (the whole card) through to win8.1 and this way it doesn't mess with the unRaid OS.  Am I reading that right?  If so, what usb card are you using, our boards are somewhat the same, so I might have to make a run to MicroCenter for a card and Win8.1.

 

Thanks...Dave

This one is for dmacias to field…

 

I go to "Create VM" load in all the iso's, show the directories and get down to the dropbox for USB Devices=YES.  Ah ha… I see my choice "Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0e8d:1887 MediaTek Inc." and I check it. I hit "Create VM" and nothing.  I see files in my directory but no vm created.  What happened, or what was supposed to happen.  Can I edit my XML file to reflect what was supposed to happen….Just Wondering ~ Dave

 

 

This one is for dmacias to field…

 

I go to "Create VM" load in all the iso's, show the directories and get down to the dropbox for USB Devices=YES.  Ah ha… I see my choice "Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0e8d:1887 MediaTek Inc." and I check it. I hit "Create VM" and nothing.  I see files in my directory but no vm created.  What happened, or what was supposed to happen.  Can I edit my XML file to reflect what was supposed to happen….Just Wondering ~ Dave

 

Did it say at the bottom the vm was created or nothing?  And was no new vm listed on the Virtual Machine tab?

 

You can turn on debugging in settings if nothing shows and no vm is created, to get the error to show when you hit create.

 

The Create VM tab should create the xml for you based on what you pick. What is the location for the vm you picked?

That being said, I do not have experience with Win8. I imagine Win8.1 has better support than Win8 but all Win8 licenses should work for Win 8.1, isn't that a free upgrade?

I have a Win8 VM that is properly licensed/activated.    However I cannot get it to install the free 8.1 upgrade - I always get an error when I try.    I did some checking and the key for a 8.0 install is not valid for a 8.1 fresh installation so I cannot go that route unless I buy a new license.  Also one cannot get the free upgrade to 8.1 except by doing the upgrade online via the store.  Has anyone managed to apply the 8.1 upgrade to a 8 VM?

I've upgraded several Win8 VM's to 8.1 with no problem ... this was in VMware based VM's, but that shouldn't matter.

 

As you've noted, you DO have to do it via the Microsoft Store ... is that what you're doing?

 

I've upgraded several Win8 VM's to 8.1 with no problem ... this was in VMware based VM's, but that shouldn't matter.

It might matter I guess.

 

As you've noted, you DO have to do it via the Microsoft Store ... is that what you're doing?

Yes.  I go into the store and it tells me I can upgrade.  I select the option to start the download of the upgrade.  It appears to think for several minutes and then gives me a message about an error having occurred (with no indication of what error) and the option to retry or cancel.

Strange.  I presume you have a Microsoft account and are properly logged in to the Store.  If that's not the issue, I really have no idea why it's not working.  As I noted, I've done exactly that with several Windows 8 VM's ... a Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 standard, and a Windows 8N Pro.    All upgraded to 8.1 with no problem.    The only difference from what you've described is that I was using a different hypervisor [VMware Workstation] ... but that really shouldn't matter.

 

 

 

I have managed to get  it working by changing the colour depth of my Remote Desktop session from 16 to 32.    Not sure why that should matter but it obviously seems to. 

 

I have a Microsoft account, but am not using it for this VM as it is more convenient to use a local account.  However being logged in to your Microsoft account does not seem to be a pre-requisite for the free 8.1 update.

Interesting that the color depth made the difference !!

 

... but I've seen stranger things happen (especially with Windows)