So, to recap what I have tested: z/VM, boot by kexec: WORKS QEMU accel=kvm, direct boot: WORKS QEMU accel=kvm, boot by kexec: WORKS QEMU accel=kvm, boot by grub-emu: WORKS QEMU, accel=tcg, direct boot: WORKS QEMU, accel=tcg, boot by kexec: FAILS QEMU, accel=tcg, boot by grub-emu: FAILS Given that grub-emu uses kexec to boot the kernel, it's at least somewhat consistent...