Could not initialize SDL(No available video device), qemu-system, Windows Subsystem for Linux

qemuwindows-subsystem-for-linuxx11

I'm learning how to write a basic OS kernel with intermezzos.github.io

I'm running in Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10 v1607.

I'm at the point where I want to run my .iso with qemu-systems-x86_64 -cdrom os.iso.

Previously I was able to run the command and QEMU would run a window, which was running into another problem, posted here: QEMU, No bootable device, Windows Subsystem for Linux

Now when running the command, I receive the following error: Could not initialize SDL(No available video device) - exiting

When I ran into this problem before I installed Xming, ran it, and then QEMU successfully ran. But now, when I try to run Xming it no longer solves the problem.

I even tried installing xorg and running startx on WSL but that starts another issue: xf86OpenConsole: Cannot open /dev/tty0 (No such file or directory)

I really don't know what I'm doing and I have so many questions.

I'm under the impression that for QEMU to successfully run, it needs to be able to find a video driver. Is that the purpose of X11?

Best Answer

I am able to get qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom os.iso to run the expected window after setting: export DISPLAY=:0

Partially solves my problem because I'm still running into QEMU, No bootable device, Windows Subsystem for Linux

I'm wondering if I'm setting the DISPLAY environment variable correctly.

Here's documentation on the DISPLAY variable, for anyone else that wants to learn: http://gerardnico.com/wiki/linux/display

Anyway, this portion is solved!

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