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How to increase the visualized screen resolution on QEMU / KVM?

Fresh6 days ago
Mar 15, 2026273767 views
Confidence Score1%
1%

Problem

I have a 64 bit Ubuntu 9.10 workstation with two virtualized guest OSes using KVM/QEMU. Also both 64-bit. One is Fedora 12 the other is beta of Ubuntu 10.04. The problem is that I would like to use a larger size display that is configured by default. Both guest OSes have a maximum screen resolution of 1024x768. I would like to increase this to something like 1280x900 or 1440x900. The resolution of the host system is 1920x1080. This configuration appears to be a result of the installation detecting the resolution being reported by the virtual screen during installation. The only information I have found on the subject suggests modifying the xorg.conf file in the /etc/X11 directory. Neither guest system has this file. I tried creating one by hand in the Fedora system and managed to render it completely unusable. Not a big deal as this is recently installed and can be reinstalled easily. Is what I want to do possible? If so, how do I accomplish it?

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Fix for: How to increase the visualized screen resolution on QEMU / KVM?

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Using this option allows me to go all the way up to 4096 x 2160. Of course, this is useless since my display only goes up to 1080p, so I set 1080p. Then you can toggle fullscreen with , or by passing . How I guessed it: in general means: simulate a generic convenient VM machine without normal hardware restrictions. Tested with this exact setup: https://askubuntu.com/questions/884534/how-to-run-ubuntu-16-04-desktop-on-qemu/1046792#1046792 As explained there, QEMU has a feature which automaticall…

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