How to Install
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2. Pre-Installation Checks
Then Check KVM Virtualization is available:
egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo
If Output > 0 then your processor supports hardware virtualization.
(Make sure virtualization is enabled in BIOS.)
If output is zero, you can still use QEMU but without hardware acceleration. -
3. Install QEMU and Dependencies from Repo
Use Solus repositories to install QEMU and required virtualization tools:
sudo eopkg update-repo
sudo eopkg install qemu qemu-system-x86
Install libvirt, virt-manager, and supporting tools:
sudo eopkg install libvirt virt-manager edk2-ovmf bridge-utils
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4. Enable and Start Libvirt Service
Start the libvirt daemon and enable it at boot:
sudo systemctl start libvirtd
sudo systemctl enable libvirtd
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5. Add User to libvirt Group
Add your user to the
libvirtgroup and re-login:sudo usermod -aG libvirt $(whoami)
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6. Verify Installation
Check that libvirt is working:
virsh list --all
You should see no VMs listed yet, which is normal — the service is running.
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7. Create and Run a VM
Use Virt-Manager or virsh to create a virtual machine with KVM acceleration. Open Virt-Manager via:
virt-manager
Follow the GUI to create a VM, assign CPU, RAM, disk, and enable hardware virtualization.
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