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Create a Windows-based image

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Updated at May 14, 2025

In Cloud Desktop, you can create desktops from pre-installed system images or your own custom images. Custom images may be Linux or Windows-based.

Creating a custom Windows image requires a Windows image licensed to you. Before installing, you should check with Microsoft to see if your license is suitable for cloud environments. The licensing relationship exists solely between you as a client and Microsoft as a license vendor. You are fully responsible for complying with the Microsoft license terms and conditions.

Note

The information in this article is not legally binding and is provided for reference only.

To create an image in Cloud Desktop:

  1. Get your equipment ready.
  2. Install and configure a Windows image for your users.
  3. Configure your Windows image to operate in the cloud.
  4. Install the cloud agent.
  5. Optionally, install Cloudbase-Init.
  6. Optionally, generalize your image.
  7. Add the image to Compute Cloud.
  8. Create an image in Cloud Desktop.

Prerequisites

To work in Cloud Desktop, you need to install and configure a Windows image through the QEMU virtualization system.

To configure an image you will need:

  • Computer with x86-64 CPU.

  • Linux OS When using other operating systems:

    • For macOS, you can use hvf as a QEMU accelerator.
    • For Windows, to work with QEMU:
      • Enable virtualization in BIOS/UEFI.
      • Enable Hyper-V. For server OSes, install Virtual Machine Platform.
      • Use the whpx accelerator.

  • Windows installation image (ISO file).

  • Windows VirtIO drivers.

Installing and configuring a Windows image

  1. On your computer, create a boot disk by running the following command:

    qemu-img create -f qcow2 image.qcow2 20480M

    Where:

    • image.qcow2: Boot disk name.

    • 20480M: OS boot disk size in the image, MB.

      Note

      We recommend that you specify a size of at least 16384M. Otherwise, your boot disk may have not enough space when installing or later configuring the OS.

  2. Start a VM to install and configure Windows:

    qemu-kvm -cpu "qemu64,hv-relaxed,hv-vapic,hv-spinlocks=0x1fff,hv-time" -name win-image -device "virtio-net,netdev=user.0" -netdev user,id=user.0 -drive "file=image.qcow2,if=virtio,cache=writeback,discard=ignore,format=qcow2" -drive "file=windows.iso,media=cdrom" -drive "file=virtio-win.iso,media=cdrom" -parallel none -smp "cpus=2" -boot "once=d" -machine "type=q35,accel=kvm" -vnc "0.0.0.0:85" -m "4096M" -nic "none" -device qemu-xhci -device usb-tablet

    Note

    If configuring your image on macOS, replace type=q35,accel=kvm with type=q35,accel=hvf; if on Windows, with type=q35,accel=whpx.

    If you need to specify the full path to the QEMU startup file, please keep in mind that the file name may differ across operating systems and QEMU builds. The most common file names are qemu-x86_64, qemu-system-x86_64, qemu-system-x86_64w, qemu-gtk, and qemu.

    If your QEMU build does not support graphical VM control, you can connect to your VM over VNC using local port tcp/5985 (localhost:5985). To connect, use a VNC client of your choice, e.g., RealVNC, Remmina, or ultraVNC. In macOS, you can use its pre-installed VNC client, Screen Sharing.

  3. Install Windows from an ISO image.

    When installing Windows, in the OS drive selection menu, select Load driver to load the virtio-storage driver (viostor).

  4. Once the installation is complete, log in and install the VirtIO drivers from the virtio-win-guest-tools.exe file located on the VirtIO drive.

  5. Make sure your system has Remote desktop connection (RDP) installed.

  6. Configure Windows to best suit the needs of your users.

Configuring an image to work in Yandex Cloud

  1. Run cmd as an administrator.

  2. Activate serial console for the OS bootloader.

    bcdedit /ems "{current}" on
bcdedit /emssettings EMSPORT:2 EMSBAUDRATE:115200

  3. Disable power saving settings:

    powercfg -setactive "8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c"
powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-ac 0
powercfg -change -standby-timeout-ac 0
powercfg -change -hibernate-timeout-ac 0

  4. Run PowerShell as an administrator.

  5. For virtualized hardware clocks, set the time format to UTC:

    #ps1
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation" -Name "RealTimeIsUniversal" -Value 1 -Type DWord -Force

  6. Disable automatic local IPv4 addressing (APIPA) for network interfaces that got no IP address assigned:

    #ps1
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters" -Name "IPAutoconfigurationEnabled" -Value 0 -Type DWord -Force

  7. Allow OS shutdown if there are no active user sessions:

    #ps1
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" -Name "ShutdownWithoutLogon" -Value 1

  8. Set the minimum OS shutdown warning display time when there are active user processes:

    #ps1
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows" -Name "ShutdownWarningDialogTimeout" -Value 1

  9. Disable automatic disk optimization (defragmentation/TRIM):

    #ps1
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName "ScheduledDefrag" | Disable-ScheduledTask

  10. Allow ICMPv4 traffic (if Windows Firewall is not disabled):

    #ps1
Get-NetFirewallRule -Name "vm-monitoring-icmpv4" | Enable-NetFirewallRule

  11. Enable RDP connections requiring user authentication:

    #ps1
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_TSGeneralSetting -Namespace root\cimv2\terminalservices | Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName SetUserAuthenticationRequired -Arguments @{ UserAuthenticationRequired = 1 }
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server" -Name "fDenyTSConnections" -Value 0
Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop"

Installing the cloud agent

  1. Run PowerShell as an administrator.

  2. Install the cloud agent:

    Invoke-WebRequest 'https://storage.yandexcloud.net/vdi-agent-internal/install.ps1' -OutFile "$($Env:temp)\install.ps1"
cd $($Env:temp)
Powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1
mkdir "C:\Program Files\Yandex.Cloud\Cloud Desktop\"
cp .\desktopagentInstall\desktopagent.exe 'C:\Program Files\Yandex.Cloud\Cloud Desktop\'

# create service
$ServiceName = "cloud-desktop-agent"
$ServicePort = 5050
$ServicePath = "C:\Program Files\Yandex.Cloud\Cloud Desktop\desktopagent.exe"

$p = @{
    Name = $ServiceName
    DisplayName = "Yandex Desktop Agent"
    BinaryPathName = "$ServicePath start --address :$ServicePort"
    Description = "Yandex Desktop Agent, automates actions from Yandex Desktop control plane service."
    StartupType = "Automatic"
}
New-Service @p

& sc.exe config $ServiceName start= delayed-auto
& sc.exe failure $ServiceName reset= 86400 actions= restart/1000/restart/1000/restart/1000

### Agent startup outside Cloud Desktop environment will fail - thus no need to do it right after install during image prepare stage 
# Start-Service $ServiceName

# create firewall rule
if ($Rule = Get-NetFirewallRule -Name "DESKTOP-AGENT-HTTPS-In-TCP" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
    $Rule | Remove-NetFirewallRule
}

New-NetFirewallRule `
    -Group "Yandex Desktop Agent" `
    -DisplayName "Yandex Desktop Agent (HTTPS-In)" `
    -Name "DESKTOP-AGENT-HTTPS-In-TCP" `
    -LocalPort $ServicePort `
    -Action "Allow" `
    -Protocol "TCP" `
    -Program "$ServicePath"

  3. Create a task for the VM to run correctly after it is first started:

     $outNull = New-Item -Path "C:\Scripts" -ItemType Directory -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

# Debug for 2025/11
$Debug = Get-Item C:\Scripts | Select Attributes

# Fix for Win24h2/11
if($Debug.Attributes -ne "Directory") {
    $outNull = Remove-Item -Path "C:\Scripts" -Force -Confirm:$false
    Start-Sleep 2
    $outNull = New-Item -Path "C:\Scripts" -ItemType Directory -Force -Confirm:$false
} 
& schtasks /Create /TN "SetNetSettings" /RU System /SC ONSTART /RL HIGHEST /TR "Powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File \`"C:\Scripts\SetNetAdapterSettings.ps1`"" | Out-Null

  4. In the C:\Scripts folder, create a file named SetNetAdapterSettings.ps1 with the contents as follows:

    # Getting IPv6 Net Adapter
$IPv6Adapter = Get-NetAdapter | where {$_.Linklayeraddress -like "D0-1D*"}

if($IPv6Adapter) {
    if((Get-NetAdapterBinding -Name $IPv6Adapter.Name -ComponentID ms_tcpip).Enabled -eq "True") {
        $outNull = Set-NetAdapterBinding -Name $IPv6Adapter.Name -ComponentID ms_tcpip -Enabled $false -Confirm:$false
        Start-Sleep 5
    }
}

if(!$(Get-Service -DisplayName "Yandex Desktop Agent") -or !$(Get-Item -Path "C:\Program Files\Yandex.Cloud\Cloud Desktop\desktopagent.exe" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
    Invoke-WebRequest 'https://storage.yandexcloud.net/vdi-agent-internal/install.ps1' -OutFile "$($Env:temp)\install.ps1"
    cd $($Env:temp)
    Powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1
    mkdir "C:\Program Files\Yandex.Cloud\Cloud Desktop\"
    cp .\desktopagentInstall\desktopagent.exe 'C:\Program Files\Yandex.Cloud\Cloud Desktop\'

    # create service
    $ServiceName = "cloud-desktop-agent"
    $ServicePort = 5050
    $ServicePath = "C:\Program Files\Yandex.Cloud\Cloud Desktop\desktopagent.exe"

    $p = @{
        Name = $ServiceName
        DisplayName = "Yandex Desktop Agent"
        BinaryPathName = "$ServicePath start --address :$ServicePort"
        Description = "Yandex Desktop Agent, automates actions from Yandex Desktop control plane service."
        StartupType = "Automatic"
    }
    New-Service @p

    & sc.exe config $ServiceName start= delayed-auto
    & sc.exe failure $ServiceName reset= 86400 actions= restart/1000/restart/1000/restart/1000

    Start-Service $ServiceName

    # create firewall rule
    if ($Rule = Get-NetFirewallRule -Name "DESKTOP-AGENT-HTTPS-In-TCP" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
        $Rule | Remove-NetFirewallRule
    }

    New-NetFirewallRule `
        -Group "Yandex Desktop Agent" `
        -DisplayName "Yandex Desktop Agent (HTTPS-In)" `
        -Name "DESKTOP-AGENT-HTTPS-In-TCP" `
        -LocalPort $ServicePort `
        -Action "Allow" `
        -Protocol "TCP" `
        -Program "$ServicePath"
}

Installing Cloudbase-Init

You can install Cloudbase-Init to the image you prepared. When using an image in Cloud Desktop, this service automatically expands the file system and OS boot partition to the boot disk's actual size.

To install Cloudbase-Init, run these PowerShell commands:

# Install cloudbase-init
$WorkDirectory = "C:\Scripts"
$outNull = Start-BITSTransfer -Source "https://www.cloudbase.it/downloads/CloudbaseInitSetup_Stable_x64.msi" -Destination $WorkDirectory
$outNull = Start-Process -FilePath 'msiexec.exe' -ArgumentList "/i $WorkDirectory\CloudbaseInitSetup_Stable_x64.msi /qn" -Wait
Start-Sleep 60

$outScript = "[DEFAULT]
username=Admin
groups=Administrators
inject_user_password=true
config_drive_raw_hhd=true
config_drive_cdrom=true
config_drive_vfat=true
bsdtar_path=C:\Program Files\Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\bin\bsdtar.exe
mtools_path=C:\Program Files\Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\bin\
verbose=true
debug=true
logdir=C:\Program Files\Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\log\
logfile=cloudbase-init-unattend.log
default_log_levels=comtypes=INFO,suds=INFO,iso8601=WARN,requests=WARN
logging_serial_port_settings=COM1,115200,N,8
mtu_use_dhcp_config=true
ntp_use_dhcp_config=true
local_scripts_path=C:\Program Files\Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\LocalScripts\
metadata_services=cloudbaseinit.metadata.services.ec2service.EC2Service
plugins=cloudbaseinit.plugins.common.mtu.MTUPlugin,cloudbaseinit.plugins.common.sethostname.SetHostNamePlugin,cloudbaseinit.plugins.windows.extendvolumes.ExtendVolumesPlugin,cloudbaseinit.plugins.common.userdata.UserDataPlugin
allow_reboot=false
stop_service_on_exit=false
check_latest_version=false"
$outScript | Out-File -FilePath "C:\Program Files\Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\conf\cloudbase-init.conf" -Confirm:$false -Force
$outScript | Out-File -FilePath "C:\Program Files\Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\conf\cloudbase-init-unattend.conf" -Confirm:$false -Force

Finalizing the image

  1. Optionally, generalize your image with the help of the Sysrep utility. This will prepare Windows for cloning and for later use on other computers.

  2. Turn off the VM.

The result will be a disk image file named image.qcow2 in QCOW2 format.

Adding an image to Compute Cloud

  1. Upload the image to Object Storage.

  2. Copy a link to the uploaded image.

  3. Import the image to Compute Cloud.

    If using the YC CLI, you can import the image by running the following command:

    yc compute image create --name <image name> --description <image description> --os-type windows --source-uri <link to image in Object Storage>

  4. Check the image you added:

    1. Create a VM from the image.

      When you start a VM in the cloud from an image for the first time, it may take longer than a normal OS boot. If the VM is unavailable over the network for more than 20 minutes, reboot the VM and try to reconnect.

    2. Connect to the VM over RDP.

Adding an image to Cloud Desktop

  1. In the management console, select Cloud Desktop.
  2. In the left-hand panel, select Images.
  3. Click Add image.
  4. In the Image source field, select Compute Cloud.
  5. In the Image in Compute Cloud field, select the image you added earlier.
  6. Specify the image name.
  7. Click Add.

Once the image is created, you can use it as a boot disk image for desktop groups.

Resizing boot disk without Cloudbase-Init

If you are not using Cloudbase-Init and you want to resize the boot disk in a desktop group:

  1. Increase the boot disk file system size on your desktop, e.g., using the diskmgmt.msc utility.

  2. Create a new Cloud Desktop image from that desktop.

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