Windows 8 Qcow2 -

Run the installer using QEMU:

qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -m 2048 -cpu host -smp 2 \
-drive file=windows8.qcow2,format=qcow2 \
-cdrom windows8.iso -boot d \
-vga qxl -display gtk

Explanation of flags:

Proceed through the Windows 8 installation as normal. Once finished, shut down the VM. windows 8 qcow2

qemu-img convert -f vdi -O qcow2 windows8.vdi windows8.qcow2

qemu-img convert -f vmdk -O qcow2 windows8.vmdk windows8.qcow2