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Boot Windows 98

This page documents the full workflow for creating a Windows 98 SE virtual machine using QEMU.
It covers disk creation, CUE/BIN corrections, ISO generation, and a working QEMU launch configuration with proper 90s‑era hardware emulation.

Create a QCOW2 Disk Image

Create a 4GB QCOW2 disk

qemu-img create -f qcow2 win98.qcow2 4G

Fix Incorrect CUE/BIN Filenames

Some Windows 98 SE releases ship with mismatched filenames inside the .cue file. This patch corrects the reference so tools like bchunk can parse it.

Fix wrong BIN filename inside the CUE file

sed -i 's/SI-W98SECE.bin/SI-W98SESCE.bin/g' SI-W98SECE.cue

Convert BIN/CUE to ISO If the release does not include an ISO, convert it manually:

Create ISO from CUE/BIN

bchunk SI-W98SESCE.bin SI-W98SECE.cue win98se.iso

Boot Windows 98 in QEMU

The following configuration emulates hardware compatible with Windows 98 SE, including:

  • Pentium III CPU
  • Cirrus Logic VGA
  • Sound Blaster 16
  • NE2000 PCI network card
  • Localtime RTC
  • Snapshot mode (no writes saved)

QEMU launch command

qemu-system-x86_64 \
    -name "Wuseman_Win98_WORPiSO" \
    -machine pc,accel=kvm \
    -cpu pentium3 \
    -m 512 \
    -drive file=win98.qcow2,format=qcow2,index=0,media=disk \
    -drive file=worp-win98se.iso,format=raw,index=1,media=cdrom \
    -boot order=d \
    -vga cirrus \
    -device sb16 \
    -net nic,model=ne2k_pci -net user \
    -rtc base=localtime \
    -snapshot