qubes-doc/user/templates/windows/qubes-windows-tools-4-1.rst

=========================
Qubes Windows Tools (QWT)
=========================


Qubes Windows Tools (QWT) are a set of programs and drivers that provide
integration of Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and 11 Standalone, TemplateVMs and
AppVMs with the rest of the Qubes system. They contain several
components than can be enabled or disabled during installation, and rely
on specific functions of Qubes which support this integration:

- **Shared components (required)** - common libraries used by QWT
  components

- **Qubes GUI Agent** - video driver and GUI agent that enable the
  seamless GUI mode that integrates windows apps onto the common Qubes
  trusted desktop (currently only for Windows 7)

- **Disable UAC** - User Account Control may interfere with QWT and
  doesn’t really provide any additional benefits in Qubes environment

- **Clipboard sender/receiver** - Support for :doc:`secure clipboard copy/paste </user/how-to-guides/how-to-copy-and-paste-text>` between the Windows VM and other
  AppVMs

- **File sender/receiver** - Support for :doc:`secure file exchange </user/how-to-guides/how-to-copy-and-move-files>` between the Windows VM and other
  AppVMs

- **Xen PV drivers** - drivers for the virtual hardware exposed by Xen
  for Windows that increase performance compared to QEMU emulated
  devices and are required for attaching USB devices

  - Base Xen PV Drivers (required): paravirtual bus and interface
    drivers

  - Xen PV Disk Drivers: paravirtual storage drivers

  - Xen PV Network Drivers: paravirtual network drivers

  - Move user profiles: user profile directory (``C:\users``) is moved
    to VM’s private disk backed by ``private.img file`` in ``dom0``
    (useful mainly for HVM templates).



- **Qubes Core Agent** (part of Qubes) - Needed for proper integration
  with Qubes as well as for ``qvm-run`` and generic ``qrexec`` for the
  Windows VM (e.g. ability to run custom service within/from the
  Windows VM)

- **Copy/Edit in Disposable VM** (part of Qubes) - Support for editing
  files in DisposableVMs

- **Audio** - Audio support is available even without QWT installation
  if ``qvm-features audio-model`` is set as ``ich6``



**Note:** Due to the security problems described in
`QSB-091 <https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-secpack/blob/master/QSBs/qsb-091-2023.txt>`__,
installation of Qubes Windows Tools is currently blocked. Instead, a
text file containing a warning is displayed. Currently, it is difficult
to estimate the severity of the risks posed by the sources of the Xen
drivers used in QWT possibly being compromised, so it was decided not to
offer direct QWT installation until this problem could be treated
properly. While Windows qubes are, in Qubes, generally not regarded as
being very trustworthy, a possible compromise of the Xen drivers used in
Qubes Windows Tools might create a risk for Xen or ``dom0`` and thus be
dangerous for Qubes itself. This risk may be small or even non-existent,
as stated in QSB-091. If you **understand** this risk and are **willing to take it**, you can still install the previous versions of Qubes
Windows Tools, using the command

.. code:: bash

      sudo qubes-dom0-update qubes-windows-tools-4.1.68



for Qubes R4.1.2, or

.. code:: bash

      sudo qubes-dom0-update qubes-windows-tools-4.1.69



for Qubes R4.2.0, respectively, instead of the command listed in step 1
of the installation described below. This will provide the .iso file to
be presented as an installation drive to the Windows qube in step 3 of
the QWT installation.

If you prefer to download the corresponding .rpm files for manual QWT
installation, these are still available from the repositories (version
`4.1.68-1 <https://yum.qubes-os.org/r4.1/current/dom0/fc32/rpm/qubes-windows-tools-4.1.68-1.noarch.rpm>`__
for Qubes R4.1.2 and version
`4.1.69-1 <https://yum.qubes-os.org/r4.2/current/dom0/fc37/rpm/qubes-windows-tools-4.1.69-1.fc37.noarch.rpm>`__
for Qubes R4.2.0). After downloading, copy the file to ``dom0`` as
described in `How to copy from dom0 <https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/how-to-copy-from-dom0/#copying-to-dom0>`__
and install it via ``sudo dnf install /path/to/rpmfile``. Now you can
proceed according to step 3 of the description below.

**Warning**: These older versions of Qubes Windows Tools will be
replaced during the next dom0 update by the current dummy version
4.1.70-1. This can be inhibited by appending the line
``exclude=qubes-windows-tools`` to the file ``/etc/dnf/dnf.conf`` in
dom0. But this will also stop any further QWT updates - so be sure to
remove this line when - hopefully - a new functional version 4.1.71-1 of
Qubes Windows Tools will be made available!!!

**Note**: If you choose to move profiles, drive letter ``Q:`` must be
assigned to the secondary (private) disk.

**Note**: Xen PV disk drivers are not installed by default. This is
because they seem to cause problems (BSOD = Blue Screen Of Death). We’re
working with upstream devs to fix this. *However*, the BSOD seems to
only occur after the first boot and everything works fine after that.
**Enable the drivers at your own risk** of course, but we welcome
reports of success/failure in any case (backup your VM first!). With
disk PV drivers absent ``qvm-block`` will not work for the VM, but you
can still use standard Qubes inter-VM file copying mechanisms. On the
other hand, the Xen PV drivers allow USB device access even without QWT
installation if ``qvm-features stubdom-qrexec`` is set as ``1``

Below is a breakdown of the feature availability depending on the
windows version:

.. list-table:: 
   :widths: 35 35 35 
   :align: center
   :header-rows: 1

   * - Feature
     - Windows 7 x64
     - Windows 8.1/10/11 x64
   * - Qubes Video Driver
     - 
     - 
   * - Qubes Network Setup
     - 
     - 
   * - Private Volume Setup (move profiles)
     - 
     - 
   * - File sender/receiver
     - 
     - 
   * - Clipboard Copy/Paste
     - 
     - 
   * - Application shortcuts
     - 
     - 
   * - Copy/Edit in Disposable VM
     - 
     - 
   * - Block device
     - 
     - 
   * - USB device
     - 
     - 
   * - Audio
     - 
     - 
   


Qubes Windows Tools are open source and are distributed under a GPL
license.

**Notes:** - Currently only 64-bit versions of Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and 11
are supported by Qubes Windows Tools. Only emulated SVGA GPU is
supported (although `there has been reports <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/qubes-users/cmPRMOkxkdA>`__
on working GPU passthrough). - This page documents the process of
installing Qubes Windows Tools in version **R4.1**. - *In testing VMs only* it’s probably a good idea to install a VNC server before
installing QWT. If something goes very wrong with the Qubes gui agent, a
VNC server should still allow access to the OS.

Preparation
-----------


**Windows 7 only:** Before proceeding with the installation we need to
disable the Windows mechanism that allows only signed drivers to be
installed, because currently the Qubes video driver, available for
Windows 7, provided as part of the Windows Tools are not digitally
signed with a publicly recognizable certificate. To do that:

1. Start the command prompt as Administrator, i.e. right click on the
   Command Prompt icon (All Programs -> Accessories) and choose “Run as
   administrator”

2. In the command prompt type ``bcdedit /set testsigning on``

3. Reboot your Windows VM



In the future this step will not be necessary anymore, because we will
sign our drivers with a publicly verifiable certificate. However, it
should be noted that even now, the fact that those drivers are not
digitally signed, this doesn’t affect security of the Windows VM in
‘any’ way. This is because the actual installation ``iso`` file can be
verified as described in step 3 below. The only downside of those
drivers not being signed is the inconvenience to the user that he or she
must disable the signature enforcement policy before installing the
tools.

The Xen PV Drivers bundled with QWT are signed by a Linux Foundation
certificate. Thus Windows 10 and 11 do not require this security
mitigation.

**Warning:** it is recommended to increase the default value of Windows
VM’s ``qrexec_timeout`` property from 60 (seconds) to, for example, 300.
During one of the first reboots after Windows Tools installation Windows
user profiles are moved onto the private VM’s virtual disk (private.img)
and this operation can take some time. Moving profiles and, later on,
updating a Windows installation, is performed in an early boot phase
when ``qrexec`` is not yet running, so timeout may occur with the
default value. To change the property use this command in ``dom0``:
*(where ``<VMname>`` is the name of your Windows VM)*

.. code:: bash

      [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-prefs <VMname> qrexec_timeout 7200



Installing Windows OS as a Qubes VM
-----------------------------------


Please refer to :doc:`this page </user/templates/windows/windows-qubes-4-1>` for instructions on
how to install Windows in a Qubes VM.

**Warning:** It is strongly suggested to enable autologon for any
Windows HVMs that will have Qubes Tools installed. To do so, run
``netplwiz`` command from the ``Win+R``/Start menu and uncheck the
*Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer* option.

Installing Qubes Windows Tools (QWT) in a Windows VM
----------------------------------------------------


Installing the Qubes Windows Tools on Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and 11 both as
a StandaloneVM as well as a Template VM and a corresponding AppVM is
described in the following sections.

**Note:** Seamless mode is currently not available for windows 10 and
11. Please check the top of this document for the full feature
availability breakdown.

1. First, make sure that ``qubes-windows-tools`` is installed in your
   system:

   .. code:: bash

         sudo qubes-dom0-update qubes-windows-tools


   (If the above command does not work, it could be that the Qubes
   Tools are not in the stable repo yet. Try installing from the
   testing repo instead.)
   You can also install the package from testing repositories, where we
   usually publish new versions first:

   .. code:: bash

         sudo qubes-dom0-update --enablerepo=qubes-dom0-current-testing qubes-windows-tools


   If an earlier version of Qubes Windows Tools is already installed,
   with enabled current-testing repo you need to specify as action to
   ``upgrade`` the existing package, because the default action is
   ``install``, which will fail if it detects that QWT is already
   present in Dom0:

   .. code:: bash

         sudo qubes-dom0-update --enablerepo=qubes-dom0-current-testing --action=upgrade qubes-windows-tools


   This package brings the ISO with Qubes Windows Tools that is passed
   to the VM when ``--install-windows-tools`` is specified for the
   ``qvm-start`` command. Please note that none of this software ever
   runs in Dom0 or any other part of the system except for the Windows
   AppVM in which it is to be installed.

2. **For Windows 8.1, 10 and 11:** From the Windows command line,
   disable hibernation in order to avoid incomplete Windows shutdown,
   which may lead to corruption of the VM’s disk.

   .. code:: bash

         powercfg -H off


   Also, these versions of Windows won’t show the CD-ROM drive after
   starting the qube with ``qvm-start vm --cdrom ...`` or
   ``qvm-start ... --install-windows-tools``. The solution is to
   disable hibernation in Windows with this command. (That command is
   included in QWT’s setup but it’s necessary to run it manually in
   order to be able to open QWT’s setup ISO/CD-ROM in Windows).

3. To install the Qubes Windows Tools in a Windows VM one should start
   the VM passing the additional option ``--install-windows-tools``:

   .. code:: bash

         qvm-start <VMname> --install-windows-tools


   Once the Windows VM boots, a CDROM should appear in the ‘My
   Computer’ menu (typically as ``D:`` or ``E:``) with the setup
   program ``qubes-tools-x64.msi`` in its main directory.

4. Install Qubes Windows Tools by starting ``qubes-tools-x64.msi``
   (logged in as administrator), optionally selecting the
   ``Xen PV disk drivers``. For installation in a template, you should
   select ``Move user profiles``.
   |QWT_install_select|
   Several times, Windows security may ask for confirmation of driver
   installation. Driver installation has to be allowed; otherwise the
   installation of Qubes Windows Tools will abort.
   |QWT_install_driver|
   If during installation, the Xen driver requests a reboot, select
   “No” and let the installation continue - the system will be rebooted
   later.
   |QWT_install_no_restart|

5. After successful installation, the Windows VM must be shut down and
   started again, possibly a couple of times. On each shutdown, wait
   until the VM is really stopped, i.e. Qubes shows no more activity.

6. Qubes will automatically detect that the tools have been installed
   in the VM and will set appropriate properties for the VM, such as
   ``qrexec_installed``, ``guiagent_installed``, and ``default_user``.
   This can be verified (but is not required) using the ``qvm-prefs``
   command *(where ``<VMname>`` is the name of your Windows VM)*:

   .. code:: bash

         [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-prefs <VMname>


   It is advisable to set some other parameters in order to enable
   audio and USB block device access, synchronize the Windows clock
   with the Qubes clock, and so on:

   .. code:: bash

         [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-features <VMname> audio-model ich9
         [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-features <VMname> stubdom-qrexec 1
         [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-features <VMname> timezone localtime


   For audio, the parameter ``audio-model``can be selected as
   ``ich6`` or ``ich9``; select the value that gives the best audio
   quality. Audio quality may also be improved by setting the following
   parameters, but this can depend on the Windows version and on your
   hardware:

   .. code:: bash

         [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-features <VMname> timer-period 1000
         [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-features <VMname> out.latency 10000
         [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-features <VMname> out.buffer-length 4000


   With the value ``localtime`` the dom0 ``timezone`` will be provided
   to virtual hardware, effectively setting the Windows clock to that
   of Qubes. With a digit value (negative or positive) the guest clock
   will have an offset (in seconds) applied relative to UTC.

7. Reboot Windows. If the VM starts, but does not show any window then
   shutdown Windows from the Qube manager, wait until it has really
   stopped, and reboot Windows once more.

8. Now the system should be up, with QWT running correctly.

9. **Windows 7 only:** Optionally enable seamless mode on VM startup.
   This can be done by setting appropriate values in the Windows
   registry:

   - Start the command prompt as administrator, i.e. right click on
     the Command Prompt icon (All Programs -> Accessories) and choose
     “Run as administrator”

   - In the command prompt type ``regedit``

   - In the registry editor, position to the key
     ``\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Invisible Things Lab\Qubes Tools\``

   - Change the value ``SeamlessMode`` from 0 to 1

   - Position to the key
     ``\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Invisible Things Lab\Qubes Tools\qga\``

   - Change the value ``SeamlessMode`` from 0 to 1

   - Terminate the registry editor.


   After the next boot, the VM will start in seamless mode.
   If Windows is used in a TemplateVM / AppVM combination, this
   registry fix has to be applied to the TemplateVM, as the ``HKLM``
   registry key belongs to the template-based part of the registry.

10. Lastly to enable file copy operations to a Windows VM, the
    ``default_user`` property of this VM should be set to the
    ``<username>`` that you use to login to the Windows VM. This can be
    done via the following command on a ``dom0`` terminal: *(where ``<VMname>`` is the name of your Windows VM)*
    ``[user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-prefs <VMname> default_user <username>``



**Warning:** If this property is not set or set to a wrong value, files
copied to this VM are stored in the folder

.. code:: bash

      C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\Documents\QubesIncoming\<source_VM>



If the target VM is an AppVM, this has the consequence that the files
are stored in the corresponding TemplateVM and so are lost on AppVM
shutdown.

Xen PV drivers and Qubes Windows Tools
--------------------------------------


Installing Xen’s PV drivers in the VM will lower its resources usage
when using network and/or I/O intensive applications, but *may* come at
the price of system stability (although Xen’s PV drivers on a Windows VM
are usually very stable). They can be installed as an optional part of
Qubes Windows Tools (QWT), which bundles Xen’s PV drivers.

**Notes** about using Xen’s VBD (storage) PV driver: - **Windows 7:**
Installing the driver requires a fully updated VM or else you’ll likely
get a BSOD (“Blue Screen Of Death”) and a VM in a difficult to fix
state. Updating Windows takes *hours* and for casual usage there isn’t
much of a performance between the disk PV driver and the default one; so
there is likely no need to go through the lengthy Windows Update process
if your VM doesn’t have access to untrusted networks and if you don’t
use I/O intensive apps or attach block devices. If you plan to update
your newly installed Windows VM it is recommended that you do so
*before* installing Qubes Windows Tools. Installing the driver will
probably cause Windows 7 activation to become invalid, but the
activation can be restored using the Microsoft telephone activation
method. - The option to install the storage PV driver is disabled by
default in Qubes Windows Tools - In case you already had QWT installed
without the storage PV driver and you then updated the VM, you may then
install the driver by again starting the QWT installer and selecting the
change option.

Using Windows AppVMs in seamless mode
-------------------------------------


**Note:** This feature is only available for Windows 7

Once you start a Windows-based AppVM with Qubes Tools installed, you can
easily start individual applications from the VM (note the ``-a`` switch
used here, which will auto-start the VM if it is not running):

.. code:: bash

      [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-run -a my-win-appvm explorer.exe



|windows-seamless-4.png| |windows-seamless-1.png|

Also, the inter-VM services work as usual – e.g. to request opening a
document or URL in the Windows AppVM from another VM:

.. code:: bash

      [user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-open-in-vm my-win-appvm roadmap.pptx
      
      [user@dom0 ~]$ qvm-open-in-vm my-win-appvm https://invisiblethingslab.com


… just like in the case of Linux AppVMs. Of course all those operations
are governed by central policy engine running in Dom0 – if the policy
doesn’t contain explicit rules for the source and/or target AppVM, the
user will be asked whether to allow or deny the operation.

Inter-VM file copy and clipboard works for Windows AppVMs the same way
as for Linux AppVM (except that we don’t provide a command line wrapper,
``qvm-copy-to-vm`` in Windows VMs) – to copy files from Windows AppVMs
just right-click on the file in Explorer, and choose: Send To-> Other
AppVM.

To simulate Ctrl-Alt-Delete in the HVM (SAS, Secure Attention Sequence),
press Ctrl-Alt-Home while having any window of this VM in the
foreground.

|windows-seamless-7.png|

**Changing between seamless and full desktop mode**

You can switch between seamless and “full desktop” mode for Windows HVMs
in their settings in Qubes Manager. The latter is the default.

Using template-based Windows AppVMs
-----------------------------------


Qubes allows HVM VMs to share a common root filesystem from a select
Template VM, just as for Linux AppVMs. This mode is not limited to
Windows AppVMs, and can be used for any HVM (e.g. FreeBSD running in a
HVM).

In order to create an HVM TemplateVM, the type “TemplateVM” has to be
selected on creating the VM. Then set memory as appropriate, and install
the Windows OS (or any other OS) into this template the same way as you
would install it into a normal HVM – please see instructions on :doc:`this page </user/advanced-topics/standalones-and-hvms>`.

If you use this Template as it is, then any HVMs that use it will
effectively be DisposableVMs - the User directory will be wiped when the
HVM is closed down.

If you want to retain the User directory between reboots, then it would
make sense to store the ``C:\Users`` directory on the 2nd disk which is
automatically exposed by Qubes to all HVMs. This 2nd disk is backed by
the ``private.img`` file in the AppVMs’ and is not reset upon AppVMs
reboot, so the user’s directories and profiles would survive the AppVMs
reboot, unlike the “root” filesystem which will be reverted to the
“golden image” from the Template VM automatically. To facilitate such
separation of user profiles, Qubes Windows Tools provide an option to
automatically move ``C:\Users`` directory to the 2nd disk backed by
``private.img``. It’s a selectable feature of the installer. For Windows
7, it requires the private disk to be renamed to ``Q:`` before QWT
installation (see above); for Windows 8.1, 10 and 11, this renaming
occurs during QWT installation automatically. If that feature is
selected during installation, completion of the process requires two
reboots:

- The private disk is initialized and formatted on the first reboot
  after tools installation. It can’t be done **during** the
  installation because Xen mass storage drivers are not yet active.

- User profiles are moved to the private disk on the next reboot after
  the private disk is initialized. Reboot is required because the
  “mover utility” runs very early in the boot process so OS can’t yet
  lock any files in there. This can take some time depending on the
  profiles’ size and because the GUI agent is not yet active dom0/Qubes
  Manager may complain that the AppVM failed to boot. That’s a false
  alarm (you can increase the AppVM’s default boot timeout using
  ``qvm-prefs``), the VM should appear “green” in Qubes Manager shortly
  after.



It also makes sense to disable Automatic Updates for all the
template-based AppVMs – of course this should be done in the Template
VM, not in individual AppVMs, because the system-wide settings are
stored in the root filesystem (which holds the system-wide registry
hives). Then, periodically check for updates in the Template VM and the
changes will be carried over to any child AppVMs.

Once the template has been created and installed it is easy to create
AppVMs based on it, by selecting the type “AppVM” and a suitable
template.

Using Windows disposables
-------------------------


Windows qubes can be used as disposables, like any other Linux-based
qubes. On creating a template for Windows disposables, certain
preparations have to be executed:

- Create an AppVM based on a Windows TemplateVM.

- Start this AppVM and insert a link to the command prompt executable
  in the ``Autostart`` directory of the Windows menu tree:

  - **For Windows 7:**

    - If the Windows qube started in seamless mode, hit the Windows
      keyboard key while the cursor is positioned in a window of this
      VM. In non-seamless mode, klick on the Start button. In both
      cases, the Windows menu will be displayed.

    - Position into the ``Autostart`` submenu.



  - **For Windows 8.1, 10 or 11:**

    - Type Win+R to open the execution Prompt.

    - Type ``shell:startup``.

    - An explorer window will open, which is positioned to the
      ``Autostart`` folder.



  - Right-click and select the option “New -> Link”.

  - Select ``C:\Windows\System32\CMD.exe`` as executable.

  - Name the link, e.g. as ``Command Prompt``.

  - Close the Window with ``OK``.

  - Shut down this AppVM.



- In the Qube Manager, refresh the applications of the newly created
  AppVM and select those applications that you want to make available
  from the disposable. Alternatively, in dom0 execute the command
  ``qvm-sync-appmenus <VMname>``, *where ``<VMname>`` is the name of your windows qube*.

- In the Qube Manager, go to the “Advanced” tab and enable the option
  ``Disposable template`` for your Windows qube. Alternatively, in dom0
  execute the commands ``qvm-prefs <VMname> template_for_dispvms True``
  and ``qvm-features <VMname> appmenus-dispvm 1``.

- Click ``Apply``.

- Still in the Advanced tab, select your Windows qube as its own
  ``Default disposable template``. Alternatively, in dom0 execute the
  command ``qvm-prefs <VMname> default_dispvm <VMname>``.

- Close the Qube Manager by clicking ``OK``.



Now you should have a menu ``Disposable: <VMname>`` containing the
applications that can be started in a disposable Windows VM. If you set
the newly created and configured Windows VM as
``Default disposable template`` for any other Windows- (or Linux-) based
qube, this qube can use the Windows-based dispvm like any other
disposable.

For further information on usage of disposables, see :doc:`How to use disposables </user/how-to-guides/how-to-use-disposables>`.

**Caution:** *If a Windows-based disposable is used from another qube via the ``Open/Edit in DisposableVM`` command, this disposable may not close automatically, due to the command prompt window still running in this dispvm. In this case, the disposable has to be shut down manually.*

Installation logs
-----------------


If the install process fails or something goes wrong during it, include
the installation logs in your bug report. They are created in the
``%TEMP%`` directory, by default ``<user profile>\AppData\Local\Temp``.
There are two text files, one small and one big, with names starting
with ``Qubes_Windows_Tools``.

Uninstalling QWT is supported. After uninstalling you need to manually
enable the DHCP Client Windows service, or set IP settings yourself to
restore network access.

Configuration
-------------


Various aspects of Qubes Windows Tools (QWT) can be configured through
the registry. The main configuration key is located in
``HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Invisible Things Lab\Qubes Tools``.
Configuration values set on this level are global to all QWT components.
It’s possible to override global values with component-specific keys,
this is useful mainly for setting log verbosity for troubleshooting.
Possible configuration values are:

.. list-table:: 
   :widths: 11 11 11 11 
   :align: center
   :header-rows: 1

   * - Name
     - Type
     - Description
     - Default value
   * - LogDir
     - String
     - Directory where logs are created
     - c:\Program Files\Invisible Things Lab\Qubes Tools\log
   * - LogLevel
     - DWORD
     - Log verbosity (see below)
     - 2 (INFO)
   * - Log Retention
     - DWORD
     - Maximum age of log files (in seconds), older logs are automatically deleted
     - 604800 (7 days)
   


Possible log levels:

.. list-table:: 
   :widths: 11 11 11 
   :align: center
   :header-rows: 1

   * - Level
     - Title
     - Description
   * - 1
     - Error
     - Serious errors that most likely cause irrecoverable failures
   * - 2
     - Warning
     - Unexpected but non-fatal events
   * - 3
     - Info
     - Useful information (default)
   * - 4
     - Debug
     - Internal state dumps for troubleshooting
   * - 5
     - Verbose
     - Trace most function calls
   


Debug and Verbose levels can generate large volume of logs and are
intended for development/troubleshooting only.

To override global settings for a specific component, create a new key
under the root key mentioned above and name it as the executable name,
without ``.exe`` extension.

Component-specific settings currently available:

.. list-table:: 
   :widths: 13 13 13 13 13 
   :align: center
   :header-rows: 1

   * - /home/user/qubes-doc-rst2/user/templates/windows/qubes-windows-tools-4-1.rst:645: (INFO/1) Unexpected possible title overline or transition. Treating it as ordinary text because it's so short.  ** Component**
     - /home/user/qubes-doc-rst2/user/templates/windows/qubes-windows-tools-4-1.rst:645: (INFO/1) Unexpected possible title overline or transition. Treating it as ordinary text because it's so short.  ** Setting**
     - /home/user/qubes-doc-rst2/user/templates/windows/qubes-windows-tools-4-1.rst:645: (INFO/1) Unexpected possible title overline or transition. Treating it as ordinary text because it's so short.  ** Type**
     - /home/user/qubes-doc-rst2/user/templates/windows/qubes-windows-tools-4-1.rst:645: (INFO/1) Unexpected possible title overline or transition. Treating it as ordinary text because it's so short.  ** Description**
     - Default value
   * - qga
     - Disa bleCursor
     - DWORD
     - Disable cursor in the VM. Useful for integration with Qubes desktop so you don’t see two cursors. Can be disabled if you plan to use the VM through a remote desktop connection of some sort. Needs gui agent restart to apply change (locking OS/logoff should be enough since qga is restarted on desktop change).
     - 1
   


Troubleshooting
---------------


If the VM is inaccessible (doesn’t respond to qrexec commands, gui is
not functioning), try to boot it in safe mode:

- ``[user@dom0 ~] $ qvm-start --debug <VMname>``

- Enable boot options and select Safe Mode (method depends on the
  Windows version; optionally with networking)



Safe Mode should at least give you access to logs (see above).

**Please include appropriate logs when reporting bugs/problems.** Logs
contain the QWT version. If the OS crashes (BSOD) please include the
BSOD code and parameters in your bug report. The BSOD screen should be
visible if you run the VM in debug mode (``qvm-start --debug vmname``).
If it’s not visible or the VM reboots automatically, try to start
Windows in safe mode (see above) and 1) disable automatic restart on
BSOD (Control Panel - System - Advanced system settings - Advanced -
Startup and recovery), 2) check the system event log for BSOD events. If
you can, send the ``memory.dmp`` dump file from ``C:\Windows``.

Xen logs in dom0 (``/var/log/xen/console/guest-*``) are also useful as
they contain pvdrivers diagnostic output.

If a specific component is malfunctioning, you can increase its log
verbosity as explained above to get more troubleshooting information.
Below is a list of components:

.. list-table:: 
   :widths: 32 32 
   :align: center
   :header-rows: 1

   * - Component
     - Description
   * - qrexec-agent
     - Responsible for most communication with Qubes (dom0 and other domains), secure clipboard, file copying, qrexec services.
   * - qrexec-wrapper
     - Helper executable that’s responsible for launching qrexec services, handling their I/O and vchan communication.
   * - qrexec-client-vm
     - Used for communications by the qrexec protocol.
   * - qga
     - Gui agent.
   * - QgaWatchdog
     - Service that monitors session/desktop changes (logon/logoff/locking/UAC…) and simulates SAS sequence (Ctrl-Alt-Del).
   * - qubesdb-daemon
     - Service for accessing Qubes configuration database.
   * - network-setup
     - Service that sets up network parameters according to VM’s configuration.
   * - prepare-volume
     - Utility that initializes and formats the disk backed by private.img file. It’s registered to run on next system boot during QWT setup, if that feature is selected (it can’t run during the setup because Xen block device drivers are not yet active). It in turn registers move-profiles (see below) to run at early boot.
   * - relocate-dir
     - Utility that moves user profiles directory to the private disk. It’s registered as an early boot native executable (similar to chkdsk) so it can run before any profile files are opened by some other process. Its log is in a fixed location: C:\move-profiles.log (it can’t use our common logger library so none of the log settings apply).
   


If there are network-related issues, the qube doesn’t resolve DNS and
has trouble accessing the Internet, this might be an issue with the PV
Network Drivers.

In this case it’s recommended that the PV Network Drivers be unchecked
during installation of Qubes Windows Tools as seen in the screenshot
below.

|QWT_no_PV_network|

Updates
-------


When we publish a new QWT version, it’s usually pushed to the
``current-testing`` or ``unstable`` repository first. To use versions
from current-testing, run this in dom0:

.. code:: bash

      [user@dom0 ~] $ sudo qubes-dom0-update --enablerepo=qubes-dom0-current-testing qubes-windows-tools



That command will download a new QWT ``iso`` file from the testing
repository. It goes without saying that you should **backup your VMs**
before installing anything from testing repos.

.. |QWT_install_select| image:: /attachment/doc/QWT_install_select.png
   

.. |QWT_install_driver| image:: /attachment/doc/QWT_install_driver.png
   

.. |QWT_install_no_restart| image:: /attachment/doc/QWT_install_no_restart.png
   

.. |windows-seamless-4.png| image:: /attachment/doc/windows-seamless-4.png
   

.. |windows-seamless-1.png| image:: /attachment/doc/windows-seamless-1.png
   

.. |windows-seamless-7.png| image:: /attachment/doc/windows-seamless-7.png
   

.. |QWT_no_PV_network| image:: /attachment/doc/QWT_no_PV_network.png