This section explains how to launch a Linux kernel inside QEMU without having to make a full bootable image. It is very useful for fast Linux kernel testing.
The syntax is:
|qemu_system| -kernel bzImage -hda rootdisk.img -append "root=/dev/hda"
Use -kernel to provide the Linux kernel image and -append to
give the kernel command line arguments. The -initrd option can be
used to provide an INITRD image.
If you do not need graphical output, you can disable it and redirect the
virtual serial port and the QEMU monitor to the console with the
-nographic option. The typical command line is:
|qemu_system| -kernel bzImage -hda rootdisk.img -append "root=/dev/hda console=ttyS0" -nographic
Use Ctrl-a c to switch between the serial console and the monitor (see :ref:`GUI_keys`).