: The qcow2 file can be created from an ISO file. First, convert the Windows 10 ISO to a virtual machine (VM) image. You can use tools like virt-install and qemu on Linux.

There are two ways to get a Windows 10 QCOW2 file. The "Lazy" way (using a pre-built image) and the "Official" way (converting an ISO).

Before building the QCOW2 image, you must obtain a legitimate Windows 10 source file. Official ISO Microsoft Windows 10 Download Page to get the latest disc image. Media Creation Tool : If you are on a Windows machine, the Media Creation Tool

Which you are using (Proxmox, pure QEMU/KVM, or Unraid)?

Raw format offers slightly better raw write performance because it features no metadata overhead. However, QCOW2 is widely preferred because it supports snapshots, dynamic space allocation, and encryption, making it far more versatile for virtualization administration.

QCOW2 stands for . It is the native disk image format for QEMU and KVM hypervisors. Unlike raw disk images, which allocate the entire storage size upfront, QCOW2 files use dynamic allocation. Key Benefits of QCOW2:

To deploy the finished QCOW2 file to production platforms like OpenStack or multiple Proxmox compute nodes, the image must undergo system preparation ( sysprep ) to erase hardware identifiers. OttoMeister/Win-KVM-Qemu-Linux: Windows 10 and ... - GitHub

: Microsoft offers Windows Enterprise Evaluation ISOs, which are often used as the base for building VM images.

When deploying your QCOW2 file, you must attach the official Fedora VirtIO driver ISO to the virtual machine's CD-ROM drive.

Storage is only occupied when data is actually written to the disk, saving massive amounts of physical drive space.