QCOW2 is the native storage format for QEMU and KVM virtualization hypervisors. It stands for "QEMU Copy-on-Write."
Microsoft occasionally offers pre-configured virtual machines for developers (typically in .ova or .vhdx formats). These can be found on the Windows Dev Center and then converted to .qcow2 using the method above.
Pre-activated images violate Microsoft’s Terms of Service and can be deactivated unexpectedly. Option 1: Download Official Microsoft VM Images (Fastest)
