Assuming you have downloaded windows-xp-lite.qcow2. This guide is for Linux (Ubuntu/Debian/Fedora) or Windows with WSL2.
Downloading a pre-installed QCOW2 file offers a distinct advantage over installing from an ISO: it saves time. windows xp lite qcow2 download
Once you have the xp-lite.qcow2 file, run it with this command to avoid sound stutter and networking issues: Assuming you have downloaded windows-xp-lite
qemu-system-x86_64 \
-drive file=xp-lite.qcow2,format=qcow2 \
-m 512 \
-cpu host \
-machine pc-q35-6.0 \
-netdev user,id=net0 \
-device e1000,netdev=net0 \
-usb -device usb-tablet
Note: Use e1000 for the NIC. VirtIO drivers often break on "Lite" versions because the driver store is stripped. Note: Use e1000 for the NIC