manie-grobler/qemu-on-windows

This project is not really a piece of software you install, it is a detailed written guide for running a Linux virtual machine on a Windows 11 computer using QEMU, a free virtualization tool. Instead of relying on heavier virtualization software, the guide walks through using Windows's own built in hypervisor platform, called WHPX, so the Linux system runs with close to native hardware speed rather than the sluggish feel virtual machines sometimes have. The guide covers several practical features you get by following it: hardware accelerated performance through Windows's native virtualization plus fast virtio storage drivers, a safeguard that detects if the same virtual machine is already running and simply brings that window back into focus instead of starting a duplicate, shared folders between the Windows host and the Linux guest using a standard network file sharing protocol, clipboard sharing so you can copy and paste text between the two systems, and proper audio support so sound from the Linux system plays through Windows. Step by step, it shows how to turn on the Windows Hypervisor Platform feature through PowerShell, install QEMU itself, create a virtual hard disk file, and boot an Ubuntu installer image to set up Linux for the first time. After Linux is installed, the guide explains how to install a clipboard sharing agent inside Linux, and how to configure a network based shared folder so files can move between Windows and Linux without extra software. The guide finishes with a full PowerShell automation script you can save and run to start the virtual machine going forward. That script checks whether the same virtual disk is already running before launching a new copy, restoring and focusing the existing window if it finds one, and it sets up the advanced audio configuration automatically each time. This is a PowerShell based project with zero stars so far, aimed at Windows users who want a fast, fully featured Linux virtual machine without commercial virtualization software.