diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 61bc49263a..cb4b8ec137 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@
 *.cp
 *.dvi
 *.exe
+*.msi
 *.dll
 *.so
 *.mo
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 340d9c8faa..9ce3972d84 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -88,7 +88,8 @@ LIBS+=-lz $(LIBS_TOOLS)
 HELPERS-$(CONFIG_LINUX) = qemu-bridge-helper$(EXESUF)
 
 ifdef BUILD_DOCS
-DOCS=qemu-doc.html qemu-tech.html qemu.1 qemu-img.1 qemu-nbd.8 qmp-commands.txt
+DOCS=qemu-doc.html qemu-tech.html qemu.1 qemu-img.1 qemu-nbd.8 qemu-ga.8
+DOCS+=qmp-commands.txt
 ifdef CONFIG_LINUX
 DOCS+=kvm_stat.1
 endif
@@ -289,28 +290,27 @@ $(qapi-modules) $(SRC_PATH)/scripts/qapi-commands.py $(qapi-py)
 QGALIB_GEN=$(addprefix qga/qapi-generated/, qga-qapi-types.h qga-qapi-visit.h qga-qmp-commands.h)
 $(qga-obj-y) qemu-ga.o: $(QGALIB_GEN)
 
-qemu-ga$(EXESUF): $(qga-obj-y) libqemuutil.a libqemustub.a
-	$(call LINK, $^)
+# we require QGA_VSS_PROVIDER files to be built alongside qemu-ga
+# executable since they are shipped together, but we don't want to actually
+# link against them
+qemu-ga$(EXESUF): $(qga-obj-y) libqemuutil.a libqemustub.a $(QGA_VSS_PROVIDER)
+	$(call LINK, $(filter-out $(QGA_VSS_PROVIDER), $^))
 
 ifdef QEMU_GA_MSI_ENABLED
 QEMU_GA_MSI=qemu-ga-$(ARCH).msi
 
-msi: ${QEMU_GA_MSI}
+msi: $(QEMU_GA_MSI)
 
 $(QEMU_GA_MSI): qemu-ga.exe
 
-ifdef QEMU_GA_MSI_WITH_VSS
-$(QEMU_GA_MSI): qga/vss-win32/qga-vss.dll
-endif
-
 $(QEMU_GA_MSI): config-host.mak
 
-$(QEMU_GA_MSI):  qga/installer/qemu-ga.wxs
-	$(call quiet-command,QEMU_GA_VERSION="$(QEMU_GA_VERSION)" QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER="$(QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER)" QEMU_GA_DISTRO="$(QEMU_GA_DISTRO)" \
+$(QEMU_GA_MSI):  $(SRC_PATH)/qga/installer/qemu-ga.wxs
+	$(call quiet-command,QEMU_GA_VERSION="$(QEMU_GA_VERSION)" QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER="$(QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER)" QEMU_GA_DISTRO="$(QEMU_GA_DISTRO)" BUILD_DIR="$(BUILD_DIR)" \
 	wixl -o $@ $(QEMU_GA_MSI_ARCH) $(QEMU_GA_MSI_WITH_VSS) $(QEMU_GA_MSI_MINGW_DLL_PATH) $<, "  WIXL  $@")
 else
 msi:
-	@echo MSI build not configured or dependency resolution failed (reconfigure with --enable-guest-agent-msi option)
+	@echo "MSI build not configured or dependency resolution failed (reconfigure with --enable-guest-agent-msi option)"
 endif
 
 clean:
@@ -400,6 +400,9 @@ ifneq ($(TOOLS),)
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) "$(DESTDIR)$(mandir)/man8"
 	$(INSTALL_DATA) qemu-nbd.8 "$(DESTDIR)$(mandir)/man8"
 endif
+ifneq (,$(findstring qemu-ga,$(TOOLS)))
+	$(INSTALL_DATA) qemu-ga.8 "$(DESTDIR)$(mandir)/man8"
+endif
 endif
 ifdef CONFIG_VIRTFS
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) "$(DESTDIR)$(mandir)/man1"
@@ -538,6 +541,12 @@ qemu-nbd.8: qemu-nbd.texi
 	  $(POD2MAN) --section=8 --center=" " --release=" " qemu-nbd.pod > $@, \
 	  "  GEN   $@")
 
+qemu-ga.8: qemu-ga.texi
+	$(call quiet-command, \
+	  perl -Ww -- $(SRC_PATH)/scripts/texi2pod.pl $< qemu-ga.pod && \
+	  $(POD2MAN) --section=8 --center=" " --release=" " qemu-ga.pod > $@, \
+	  "  GEN   $@")
+
 kvm_stat.1: scripts/kvm/kvm_stat.texi
 	$(call quiet-command, \
 	  perl -Ww -- $(SRC_PATH)/scripts/texi2pod.pl $< kvm_stat.pod && \
@@ -551,7 +560,7 @@ pdf: qemu-doc.pdf qemu-tech.pdf
 
 qemu-doc.dvi qemu-doc.html qemu-doc.info qemu-doc.pdf: \
 	qemu-img.texi qemu-nbd.texi qemu-options.texi \
-	qemu-monitor.texi qemu-img-cmds.texi
+	qemu-monitor.texi qemu-img-cmds.texi qemu-ga.texi
 
 ifdef CONFIG_WIN32
 
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 9d24d59b19..21c4089c5c 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -732,7 +732,7 @@ if test "$mingw32" = "yes" ; then
   sysconfdir="\${prefix}"
   local_statedir=
   confsuffix=""
-  libs_qga="-lws2_32 -lwinmm -lpowrprof -liphlpapi $libs_qga"
+  libs_qga="-lws2_32 -lwinmm -lpowrprof -liphlpapi -lnetapi32 $libs_qga"
 fi
 
 werror=""
@@ -3851,6 +3851,7 @@ EOF
     guest_agent_with_vss="yes"
     QEMU_CFLAGS="$QEMU_CFLAGS $vss_win32_include"
     libs_qga="-lole32 -loleaut32 -lshlwapi -luuid -lstdc++ -Wl,--enable-stdcall-fixup $libs_qga"
+    qga_vss_provider="qga/vss-win32/qga-vss.dll qga/vss-win32/qga-vss.tlb"
   else
     if test "$vss_win32_sdk" != "" ; then
       echo "ERROR: Please download and install Microsoft VSS SDK:"
@@ -3904,58 +3905,6 @@ EOF
   fi
 fi
 
-##########################################
-# Guest agent Window MSI  package
-
-if test "$guest_agent" != yes; then
-  if test "$guest_agent_msi" = yes; then
-    error_exit "MSI guest agent package requires guest agent enabled"
-  fi
-  guest_agent_msi=no
-elif test "$mingw32" != "yes"; then
-  if test "$guest_agent_msi" = "yes"; then
-    error_exit "MSI guest agent package is available only for MinGW Windows cross-compilation"
-  fi
-  guest_agent_msi=no
-elif ! has wixl; then
-  if test "$guest_agent_msi" = "yes"; then
-    error_exit "MSI guest agent package requires wixl tool installed ( usually from msitools package )"
-  fi
-  guest_agent_msi=no
-fi
-
-if test "$guest_agent_msi" != "no"; then
-  if test "$guest_agent_with_vss" = "yes"; then
-    QEMU_GA_MSI_WITH_VSS="-D InstallVss"
-  fi
-
-  if test "$QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER" = ""; then
-    QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER=QEMU
-  fi
-
-  if test "$QEMU_GA_DISTRO" = ""; then
-    QEMU_GA_DISTRO=Linux
-  fi
-
-  if test "$QEMU_GA_VERSION" = ""; then
-      QEMU_GA_VERSION=`cat $source_path/VERSION`
-  fi
-
-  QEMU_GA_MSI_MINGW_DLL_PATH="-D Mingw_dlls=`$pkg_config --variable=prefix glib-2.0`/bin"
-  
-  case "$cpu" in
-  x86_64)
-    QEMU_GA_MSI_ARCH="-a x64 -D Arch=64"
-    ;;
-  i386)
-    QEMU_GA_MSI_ARCH="-D Arch=32"
-    ;;
-  *)
-    error_exit "CPU $cpu not supported for building installation package"
-    ;;
-  esac
-fi
-
 ##########################################
 # check if we have fdatasync
 
@@ -4396,12 +4345,12 @@ if test "$softmmu" = yes ; then
     fi
   fi
 fi
+
+# Probe for guest agent support/options
+
 if [ "$guest_agent" != "no" ]; then
   if [ "$linux" = "yes" -o "$bsd" = "yes" -o "$solaris" = "yes" -o "$mingw32" = "yes" ] ; then
       tools="qemu-ga\$(EXESUF) $tools"
-      if [ "$mingw32" = "yes" -a "$guest_agent_with_vss" = "yes" ]; then
-        tools="qga/vss-win32/qga-vss.dll qga/vss-win32/qga-vss.tlb $tools"
-      fi
       guest_agent=yes
   elif [ "$guest_agent" != yes ]; then
       guest_agent=no
@@ -4410,6 +4359,63 @@ if [ "$guest_agent" != "no" ]; then
   fi
 fi
 
+# Guest agent Window MSI  package
+
+if test "$guest_agent" != yes; then
+  if test "$guest_agent_msi" = yes; then
+    error_exit "MSI guest agent package requires guest agent enabled"
+  fi
+  guest_agent_msi=no
+elif test "$mingw32" != "yes"; then
+  if test "$guest_agent_msi" = "yes"; then
+    error_exit "MSI guest agent package is available only for MinGW Windows cross-compilation"
+  fi
+  guest_agent_msi=no
+elif ! has wixl; then
+  if test "$guest_agent_msi" = "yes"; then
+    error_exit "MSI guest agent package requires wixl tool installed ( usually from msitools package )"
+  fi
+  guest_agent_msi=no
+else
+  # we support qemu-ga, mingw32, and wixl: default to MSI enabled if it wasn't
+  # disabled explicitly
+  if test "$guest_agent_msi" != "no"; then
+    guest_agent_msi=yes
+  fi
+fi
+
+if test "$guest_agent_msi" = "yes"; then
+  if test "$guest_agent_with_vss" = "yes"; then
+    QEMU_GA_MSI_WITH_VSS="-D InstallVss"
+  fi
+
+  if test "$QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER" = ""; then
+    QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER=QEMU
+  fi
+
+  if test "$QEMU_GA_DISTRO" = ""; then
+    QEMU_GA_DISTRO=Linux
+  fi
+
+  if test "$QEMU_GA_VERSION" = ""; then
+      QEMU_GA_VERSION=`cat $source_path/VERSION`
+  fi
+
+  QEMU_GA_MSI_MINGW_DLL_PATH="-D Mingw_dlls=`$pkg_config --variable=prefix glib-2.0`/bin"
+
+  case "$cpu" in
+  x86_64)
+    QEMU_GA_MSI_ARCH="-a x64 -D Arch=64"
+    ;;
+  i386)
+    QEMU_GA_MSI_ARCH="-D Arch=32"
+    ;;
+  *)
+    error_exit "CPU $cpu not supported for building installation package"
+    ;;
+  esac
+fi
+
 # Mac OS X ships with a broken assembler
 roms=
 if test \( "$cpu" = "i386" -o "$cpu" = "x86_64" \) -a \
@@ -4577,6 +4583,7 @@ echo "libnfs support    $libnfs"
 echo "build guest agent $guest_agent"
 echo "QGA VSS support   $guest_agent_with_vss"
 echo "QGA w32 disk info $guest_agent_ntddscsi"
+echo "QGA MSI support   $guest_agent_msi"
 echo "seccomp support   $seccomp"
 echo "coroutine backend $coroutine"
 echo "coroutine pool    $coroutine_pool"
@@ -4651,12 +4658,13 @@ if test "$mingw32" = "yes" ; then
   echo "CONFIG_PRODUCTVERSION=$version_major,$version_minor,$version_subminor,$version_micro" >> $config_host_mak
   if test "$guest_agent_with_vss" = "yes" ; then
     echo "CONFIG_QGA_VSS=y" >> $config_host_mak
+    echo "QGA_VSS_PROVIDER=$qga_vss_provider" >> $config_host_mak
     echo "WIN_SDK=\"$win_sdk\"" >> $config_host_mak
   fi
   if test "$guest_agent_ntddscsi" = "yes" ; then
     echo "CONFIG_QGA_NTDDDISK=y" >> $config_host_mak
   fi
-  if test "$guest_agent_msi" != "no"; then
+  if test "$guest_agent_msi" = "yes"; then
     echo "QEMU_GA_MSI_ENABLED=yes" >> $config_host_mak  
     echo "QEMU_GA_MSI_MINGW_DLL_PATH=${QEMU_GA_MSI_MINGW_DLL_PATH}" >> $config_host_mak
     echo "QEMU_GA_MSI_WITH_VSS=${QEMU_GA_MSI_WITH_VSS}" >> $config_host_mak
diff --git a/qemu-doc.texi b/qemu-doc.texi
index f1c38b6c8d..ea9b3fbfca 100644
--- a/qemu-doc.texi
+++ b/qemu-doc.texi
@@ -412,6 +412,7 @@ snapshots.
 * vm_snapshots::              VM snapshots
 * qemu_img_invocation::       qemu-img Invocation
 * qemu_nbd_invocation::       qemu-nbd Invocation
+* qemu_ga_invocation::        qemu-ga Invocation
 * disk_images_formats::       Disk image file formats
 * host_drives::               Using host drives
 * disk_images_fat_images::    Virtual FAT disk images
@@ -505,6 +506,11 @@ state is not saved or restored properly (in particular USB).
 
 @include qemu-nbd.texi
 
+@node qemu_ga_invocation
+@subsection @code{qemu-ga} Invocation
+
+@include qemu-ga.texi
+
 @node disk_images_formats
 @subsection Disk image file formats
 
diff --git a/qemu-ga.texi b/qemu-ga.texi
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..536a9b5241
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qemu-ga.texi
@@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
+@example
+@c man begin SYNOPSIS
+usage: qemu-ga [OPTIONS]
+@c man end
+@end example
+
+@c man begin DESCRIPTION
+
+The QEMU Guest Agent is a daemon intended to be run within virtual
+machines. It allows the hypervisor host to perform various operations
+in the guest, such as:
+
+@itemize
+@item
+get information from the guest
+@item
+set the guest's system time
+@item
+read/write a file
+@item
+sync and freeze the filesystems
+@item
+suspend the guest
+@item
+reconfigure guest local processors
+@item
+set user's password
+@item
+...
+@end itemize
+
+qemu-ga will read a system configuration file on startup (located at
+q@file{/etc/qemu/qemu-ga.conf} by default), then parse remaining
+configuration options on the command line. For the same key, the last
+option wins, but the lists accumulate (see below for configuration
+file format).
+
+@c man end
+
+@c man begin OPTIONS
+@table @option
+@item -m, --method=@var{method}
+  Transport method: one of @samp{unix-listen}, @samp{virtio-serial}, or
+  @samp{isa-serial} (@samp{virtio-serial} is the default).
+
+@item -p, --path=@var{path}
+  Device/socket path (the default for virtio-serial is
+  @samp{/dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0},
+  the default for isa-serial is @samp{/dev/ttyS0})
+
+@item -l, --logfile=@var{path}
+  Set log file path (default is stderr).
+
+@item -f, --pidfile=@var{path}
+  Specify pid file (default is @samp{/var/run/qemu-ga.pid}).
+
+@item -F, --fsfreeze-hook=@var{path}
+  Enable fsfreeze hook. Accepts an optional argument that specifies
+  script to run on freeze/thaw. Script will be called with
+  'freeze'/'thaw' arguments accordingly (default is
+  @samp{/etc/qemu/fsfreeze-hook}). If using -F with an argument, do
+  not follow -F with a space (for example:
+  @samp{-F/var/run/fsfreezehook.sh}).
+
+@item -t, --statedir=@var{path}
+  Specify the directory to store state information (absolute paths only,
+  default is @samp{/var/run}).
+
+@item -v, --verbose
+  Log extra debugging information.
+
+@item -V, --version
+  Print version information and exit.
+
+@item -d, --daemon
+  Daemonize after startup (detach from terminal).
+
+@item -b, --blacklist=@var{list}
+  Comma-separated list of RPCs to disable (no spaces, @samp{?} to list
+  available RPCs).
+
+@item -D, --dump-conf
+  Dump the configuration in a format compatible with @file{qemu-ga.conf}
+  and exit.
+
+@item -h, --help
+  Display this help and exit.
+@end table
+
+@c man end
+
+@c man begin FILES
+
+The syntax of the @file{qemu-ga.conf} configuration file follows the
+Desktop Entry Specification, here is a quick summary: it consists of
+groups of key-value pairs, interspersed with comments.
+
+@example
+# qemu-ga configuration sample
+[general]
+daemonize = 0
+pidfile = /var/run/qemu-ga.pid
+verbose = 0
+method = virtio-serial
+path = /dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0
+statedir = /var/run
+@end example
+
+The list of keys follows the command line options:
+@table @option
+@item daemon= boolean
+@item method= string
+@item path= string
+@item logfile= string
+@item pidfile= string
+@item fsfreeze-hook= string
+@item statedir= string
+@item verbose= boolean
+@item blacklist= string list
+@end table
+
+@c man end
+
+@ignore
+
+@setfilename qemu-ga
+@settitle QEMU Guest Agent
+
+@c man begin AUTHOR
+Michael Roth <mdroth@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
+@c man end
+
+@c man begin SEEALSO
+qemu(1)
+@c man end
+
+@end ignore
diff --git a/qga/commands-posix.c b/qga/commands-posix.c
index 675f4b4c66..fc4fc727f7 100644
--- a/qga/commands-posix.c
+++ b/qga/commands-posix.c
@@ -2454,7 +2454,7 @@ GList *ga_command_blacklist_init(GList *blacklist)
         char **p = (char **)list;
 
         while (*p) {
-            blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, *p++);
+            blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, g_strdup(*p++));
         }
     }
 #endif
@@ -2468,13 +2468,13 @@ GList *ga_command_blacklist_init(GList *blacklist)
         char **p = (char **)list;
 
         while (*p) {
-            blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, *p++);
+            blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, g_strdup(*p++));
         }
     }
 #endif
 
 #if !defined(CONFIG_FSTRIM)
-    blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, (char *)"guest-fstrim");
+    blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, g_strdup("guest-fstrim"));
 #endif
 
     return blacklist;
diff --git a/qga/commands-win32.c b/qga/commands-win32.c
index a7822d5ff7..cbee18644b 100644
--- a/qga/commands-win32.c
+++ b/qga/commands-win32.c
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
 #include <setupapi.h>
 #include <initguid.h>
 #endif
+#include <lm.h>
+
 #include "qga/guest-agent-core.h"
 #include "qga/vss-win32.h"
 #include "qga-qmp-commands.h"
@@ -1192,12 +1194,84 @@ int64_t qmp_guest_set_vcpus(GuestLogicalProcessorList *vcpus, Error **errp)
     return -1;
 }
 
+static gchar *
+get_net_error_message(gint error)
+{
+    HMODULE module = NULL;
+    gchar *retval = NULL;
+    wchar_t *msg = NULL;
+    int flags, nchars;
+
+    flags = FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER
+        |FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS
+        |FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM;
+
+    if (error >= NERR_BASE && error <= MAX_NERR) {
+        module = LoadLibraryExW(L"netmsg.dll", NULL, LOAD_LIBRARY_AS_DATAFILE);
+
+        if (module != NULL) {
+            flags |= FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_HMODULE;
+        }
+    }
+
+    FormatMessageW(flags, module, error, 0, (LPWSTR)&msg, 0, NULL);
+
+    if (msg != NULL) {
+        nchars = wcslen(msg);
+
+        if (nchars > 2 && msg[nchars-1] == '\n' && msg[nchars-2] == '\r') {
+            msg[nchars-2] = '\0';
+        }
+
+        retval = g_utf16_to_utf8(msg, -1, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+
+        LocalFree(msg);
+    }
+
+    if (module != NULL) {
+        FreeLibrary(module);
+    }
+
+    return retval;
+}
+
 void qmp_guest_set_user_password(const char *username,
                                  const char *password,
                                  bool crypted,
                                  Error **errp)
 {
-    error_setg(errp, QERR_UNSUPPORTED);
+    NET_API_STATUS nas;
+    char *rawpasswddata = NULL;
+    size_t rawpasswdlen;
+    wchar_t *user, *wpass;
+    USER_INFO_1003 pi1003 = { 0, };
+
+    if (crypted) {
+        error_setg(errp, QERR_UNSUPPORTED);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    rawpasswddata = (char *)g_base64_decode(password, &rawpasswdlen);
+    rawpasswddata = g_renew(char, rawpasswddata, rawpasswdlen + 1);
+    rawpasswddata[rawpasswdlen] = '\0';
+
+    user = g_utf8_to_utf16(username, -1, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+    wpass = g_utf8_to_utf16(rawpasswddata, -1, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+
+    pi1003.usri1003_password = wpass;
+    nas = NetUserSetInfo(NULL, user,
+                         1003, (LPBYTE)&pi1003,
+                         NULL);
+
+    if (nas != NERR_Success) {
+        gchar *msg = get_net_error_message(nas);
+        error_setg(errp, "failed to set password: %s", msg);
+        g_free(msg);
+    }
+
+    g_free(user);
+    g_free(wpass);
+    g_free(rawpasswddata);
 }
 
 GuestMemoryBlockList *qmp_guest_get_memory_blocks(Error **errp)
@@ -1225,7 +1299,6 @@ GList *ga_command_blacklist_init(GList *blacklist)
     const char *list_unsupported[] = {
         "guest-suspend-hybrid",
         "guest-get-vcpus", "guest-set-vcpus",
-        "guest-set-user-password",
         "guest-get-memory-blocks", "guest-set-memory-blocks",
         "guest-get-memory-block-size",
         "guest-fsfreeze-freeze-list",
@@ -1233,7 +1306,7 @@ GList *ga_command_blacklist_init(GList *blacklist)
     char **p = (char **)list_unsupported;
 
     while (*p) {
-        blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, *p++);
+        blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, g_strdup(*p++));
     }
 
     if (!vss_init(true)) {
@@ -1244,7 +1317,7 @@ GList *ga_command_blacklist_init(GList *blacklist)
         p = (char **)list;
 
         while (*p) {
-            blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, *p++);
+            blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, g_strdup(*p++));
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/qga/installer/qemu-ga.wxs b/qga/installer/qemu-ga.wxs
index 2c43f1b5aa..6804f0279f 100644
--- a/qga/installer/qemu-ga.wxs
+++ b/qga/installer/qemu-ga.wxs
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
   <Product
     Name="QEMU guest agent"
     Id="*"
-    UpgradeCode="{EB6B8302-C06E-4bec-ADAC-932C68A3A98D}"
+    UpgradeCode="{EB6B8302-C06E-4BEC-ADAC-932C68A3A98D}"
     Manufacturer="$(env.QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER)"
     Version="$(env.QEMU_GA_VERSION)"
     Language="1033">
@@ -58,29 +58,15 @@
       />
     <Media Id="1" Cabinet="qemu_ga.$(env.QEMU_GA_VERSION).cab" EmbedCab="yes" />
     <Property Id="WHSLogo">1</Property>
-    <Property Id="PREVIOUSVERSIONSINSTALLED" />
-    <Upgrade Id="{EB6B8302-C06E-4bec-ADAC-932C68A3A98D}">
-      <UpgradeVersion
-        Minimum="1.0.0.0" Maximum="$(env.QEMU_GA_VERSION)"
-        Property="PREVIOUSVERSIONSINSTALLED"
-        IncludeMinimum="yes" IncludeMaximum="no" />
-    </Upgrade>
+    <MajorUpgrade
+      DowngradeErrorMessage="Error: A newer version of QEMU guest agent is already installed."
+      />
 
     <Directory Id="TARGETDIR" Name="SourceDir">
       <Directory Id="$(var.GaProgramFilesFolder)" Name="QEMU Guest Agent">
         <Directory Id="qemu_ga_directory" Name="Qemu-ga">
-          <Component Id="qemu_ga" Guid="{908B7199-DE2A-4dc6-A8D0-27A5AE444FEA}">
-            <File Id="qemu_ga.exe" Name="qemu-ga.exe" Source="../../qemu-ga.exe" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
-            <?ifdef var.InstallVss ?>
-            <File Id="qga_vss.dll" Name="qga-vss.dll" Source="../vss-win32/qga-vss.dll" KeyPath="no" DiskId="1"/>
-            <File Id="qga_vss.tlb" Name="qga-vss.tlb" Source="../vss-win32/qga-vss.tlb" KeyPath="no" DiskId="1"/>
-            <?endif?>
-            <File Id="iconv.dll" Name="iconv.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/iconv.dll" KeyPath="no" DiskId="1"/>
-            <File Id="libgcc_arch_lib" Name="$(var.ArchLib)" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/$(var.ArchLib)" KeyPath="no" DiskId="1"/>
-            <File Id="libglib_2.0_0.dll" Name="libglib-2.0-0.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/libglib-2.0-0.dll" KeyPath="no" DiskId="1"/>
-            <File Id="libintl_8.dll" Name="libintl-8.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/libintl-8.dll" KeyPath="no" DiskId="1"/>
-            <File Id="libssp_0.dll" Name="libssp-0.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/libssp-0.dll" KeyPath="no" DiskId="1"/>
-            <File Id="libwinpthread_1.dll" Name="libwinpthread-1.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/libwinpthread-1.dll" KeyPath="no" DiskId="1"/>
+          <Component Id="qemu_ga" Guid="{908B7199-DE2A-4DC6-A8D0-27A5AE444FEA}">
+            <File Id="qemu_ga.exe" Name="qemu-ga.exe" Source="$(env.BUILD_DIR)/qemu-ga.exe" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
             <ServiceInstall
               Id="ServiceInstaller"
               Type="ownProcess"
@@ -97,8 +83,33 @@
             </ServiceInstall>
             <ServiceControl Id="StartService" Start="install" Stop="both" Remove="uninstall" Name="QEMU-GA" Wait="no" />
           </Component>
-
-          <Component Id="registry_entries" Guid="d075d109-51ca-11e3-9f8b-000c29858960">
+          <?ifdef var.InstallVss?>
+          <Component Id="qga_vss_dll" Guid="{CB19C453-FABB-4BB1-ABAB-6B74F687BFBB}">
+            <File Id="qga_vss.dll" Name="qga-vss.dll" Source="$(env.BUILD_DIR)/qga/vss-win32/qga-vss.dll" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
+          </Component>
+          <Component Id="qga_vss_tlb" Guid="{D8D584B1-59C2-4FB7-A91F-636FF7BFA66E}">
+            <File Id="qga_vss.tlb" Name="qga-vss.tlb" Source="$(env.BUILD_DIR)/qga/vss-win32/qga-vss.tlb" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
+          </Component>
+          <?endif?>
+          <Component Id="iconv" Guid="{35EE3558-D34B-4F0A-B8BD-430FF0775246}">
+            <File Id="iconv.dll" Name="iconv.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/iconv.dll" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
+          </Component>
+          <Component Id="libgcc_arch_lib" Guid="{ADD4D07D-4515-4AB6-AF3E-C904961B4BB0}">
+            <File Id="libgcc_arch_lib" Name="$(var.ArchLib)" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/$(var.ArchLib)" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
+          </Component>
+          <Component Id="libglib" Guid="{D31BFD83-2773-4B65-B45A-E0D2ADA58679}">
+            <File Id="libglib_2.0_0.dll" Name="libglib-2.0-0.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/libglib-2.0-0.dll" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
+          </Component>
+          <Component Id="libintl" Guid="{A641BC2D-A907-4A94-9149-F30ED430878F}">
+            <File Id="libintl_8.dll" Name="libintl-8.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/libintl-8.dll" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
+          </Component>
+          <Component Id="libssp" Guid="{7880087B-02B4-4EF6-A5D3-D18F8E3D90E1}">
+            <File Id="libssp_0.dll" Name="libssp-0.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/libssp-0.dll" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
+          </Component>
+          <Component Id="libwinpthread" Guid="{6C117C78-0F47-4B07-8F34-6BEE11643829}">
+            <File Id="libwinpthread_1.dll" Name="libwinpthread-1.dll" Source="$(var.Mingw_bin)/libwinpthread-1.dll" KeyPath="yes" DiskId="1"/>
+          </Component>
+          <Component Id="registry_entries" Guid="{D075D109-51CA-11E3-9F8B-000C29858960}">
             <RegistryKey Root="HKLM"
                          Key="Software\$(env.QEMU_GA_MANUFACTURER)\$(env.QEMU_GA_DISTRO)\Tools\QemuGA">
               <RegistryValue Type="string" Name="ProductID" Value="fb0a0d66-c7fb-4e2e-a16b-c4a3bfe8d13b" />
@@ -110,10 +121,11 @@
     </Directory>
 
     <Property Id="cmd" Value="cmd.exe"/>
+    <Property Id="REINSTALLMODE" Value="amus"/>
 
-    <?ifdef var.InstallVss ?>
+    <?ifdef var.InstallVss?>
     <CustomAction Id="RegisterCom"
-             ExeCommand='/c "[qemu_ga_directory]qemu-ga.exe" -s vss-install'
+              ExeCommand='/c "[qemu_ga_directory]qemu-ga.exe" -s vss-install'
               Execute="deferred"
               Property="cmd"
               Impersonate="no"
@@ -126,19 +138,29 @@
               Property="cmd"
               Impersonate="no"
               Return="check"
-              ></CustomAction>
+              >
+    </CustomAction>
     <?endif?>
 
     <Feature Id="QEMUFeature" Title="QEMU Guest Agent" Level="1">
       <ComponentRef Id="qemu_ga" />
+      <?ifdef var.InstallVss?>
+      <ComponentRef Id="qga_vss_dll" />
+      <ComponentRef Id="qga_vss_tlb" />
+      <?endif?>
+      <ComponentRef Id="iconv" />
+      <ComponentRef Id="libgcc_arch_lib" />
+      <ComponentRef Id="libglib" />
+      <ComponentRef Id="libintl" />
+      <ComponentRef Id="libssp" />
+      <ComponentRef Id="libwinpthread" />
       <ComponentRef Id="registry_entries" />
     </Feature>
 
     <InstallExecuteSequence>
-      <RemoveExistingProducts Before="InstallInitialize" />
-      <?ifdef var.InstallVss ?>
-      <Custom Action="RegisterCom" After="InstallServices">NOT Installed</Custom>
+      <?ifdef var.InstallVss?>
       <Custom Action="UnRegisterCom" After="StopServices">Installed</Custom>
+      <Custom Action="RegisterCom" After="InstallServices">NOT REMOVE</Custom>
       <?endif?>
     </InstallExecuteSequence>
   </Product>
diff --git a/qga/main.c b/qga/main.c
index 791982ef01..d8e063a4a3 100644
--- a/qga/main.c
+++ b/qga/main.c
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
 #define QGA_FSFREEZE_HOOK_DEFAULT CONFIG_QEMU_CONFDIR "/fsfreeze-hook"
 #endif
 #define QGA_SENTINEL_BYTE 0xFF
+#define QGA_CONF_DEFAULT CONFIG_QEMU_CONFDIR G_DIR_SEPARATOR_S "qemu-ga.conf"
 
 static struct {
     const char *state_dir;
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@ struct GAState {
     bool delimit_response;
     bool frozen;
     GList *blacklist;
-    const char *state_filepath_isfrozen;
+    char *state_filepath_isfrozen;
     struct {
         const char *log_filepath;
         const char *pid_filepath;
@@ -90,7 +91,7 @@ struct GAState {
 #ifdef CONFIG_FSFREEZE
     const char *fsfreeze_hook;
 #endif
-    const gchar *pstate_filepath;
+    gchar *pstate_filepath;
     GAPersistentState pstate;
 };
 
@@ -215,6 +216,8 @@ static void usage(const char *cmd)
 #endif
 "  -b, --blacklist   comma-separated list of RPCs to disable (no spaces, \"?\"\n"
 "                    to list available RPCs)\n"
+"  -D, --dump-conf   dump a qemu-ga config file based on current config\n"
+"                    options / command-line parameters to stdout\n"
 "  -h, --help        display this help and exit\n"
 "\n"
 "Report bugs to <mdroth@linux.vnet.ibm.com>\n"
@@ -658,23 +661,6 @@ static gboolean channel_init(GAState *s, const gchar *method, const gchar *path)
 {
     GAChannelMethod channel_method;
 
-    if (method == NULL) {
-        method = "virtio-serial";
-    }
-
-    if (path == NULL) {
-        if (strcmp(method, "virtio-serial") == 0 ) {
-            /* try the default path for the virtio-serial port */
-            path = QGA_VIRTIO_PATH_DEFAULT;
-        } else if (strcmp(method, "isa-serial") == 0){
-            /* try the default path for the serial port - COM1 */
-            path = QGA_SERIAL_PATH_DEFAULT;
-        } else {
-            g_critical("must specify a path for this channel");
-            return false;
-        }
-    }
-
     if (strcmp(method, "virtio-serial") == 0) {
         s->virtio = true; /* virtio requires special handling in some cases */
         channel_method = GA_CHANNEL_VIRTIO_SERIAL;
@@ -921,22 +907,164 @@ static void ga_print_cmd(QmpCommand *cmd, void *opaque)
     printf("%s\n", qmp_command_name(cmd));
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+static GList *split_list(const gchar *str, const gchar *delim)
 {
-    const char *sopt = "hVvdm:p:l:f:F::b:s:t:";
-    const char *method = NULL, *path = NULL;
-    const char *log_filepath = NULL;
-    const char *pid_filepath;
+    GList *list = NULL;
+    int i;
+    gchar **strv;
+
+    strv = g_strsplit(str, delim, -1);
+    for (i = 0; strv[i]; i++) {
+        list = g_list_prepend(list, strv[i]);
+    }
+    g_free(strv);
+
+    return list;
+}
+
+typedef struct GAConfig {
+    char *channel_path;
+    char *method;
+    char *log_filepath;
+    char *pid_filepath;
 #ifdef CONFIG_FSFREEZE
-    const char *fsfreeze_hook = NULL;
+    char *fsfreeze_hook;
 #endif
-    const char *state_dir;
+    char *state_dir;
 #ifdef _WIN32
-    const char *service = NULL;
+    const char *service;
 #endif
+    gchar *bliststr; /* blacklist may point to this string */
+    GList *blacklist;
+    int daemonize;
+    GLogLevelFlags log_level;
+    int dumpconf;
+} GAConfig;
+
+static void config_load(GAConfig *config)
+{
+    GError *gerr = NULL;
+    GKeyFile *keyfile;
+
+    /* read system config */
+    keyfile = g_key_file_new();
+    if (!g_key_file_load_from_file(keyfile, QGA_CONF_DEFAULT, 0, &gerr)) {
+        goto end;
+    }
+    if (g_key_file_has_key(keyfile, "general", "daemon", NULL)) {
+        config->daemonize =
+            g_key_file_get_boolean(keyfile, "general", "daemon", &gerr);
+    }
+    if (g_key_file_has_key(keyfile, "general", "method", NULL)) {
+        config->method =
+            g_key_file_get_string(keyfile, "general", "method", &gerr);
+    }
+    if (g_key_file_has_key(keyfile, "general", "path", NULL)) {
+        config->channel_path =
+            g_key_file_get_string(keyfile, "general", "path", &gerr);
+    }
+    if (g_key_file_has_key(keyfile, "general", "logfile", NULL)) {
+        config->log_filepath =
+            g_key_file_get_string(keyfile, "general", "logfile", &gerr);
+    }
+    if (g_key_file_has_key(keyfile, "general", "pidfile", NULL)) {
+        config->pid_filepath =
+            g_key_file_get_string(keyfile, "general", "pidfile", &gerr);
+    }
+#ifdef CONFIG_FSFREEZE
+    if (g_key_file_has_key(keyfile, "general", "fsfreeze-hook", NULL)) {
+        config->fsfreeze_hook =
+            g_key_file_get_string(keyfile,
+                                  "general", "fsfreeze-hook", &gerr);
+    }
+#endif
+    if (g_key_file_has_key(keyfile, "general", "statedir", NULL)) {
+        config->state_dir =
+            g_key_file_get_string(keyfile, "general", "statedir", &gerr);
+    }
+    if (g_key_file_has_key(keyfile, "general", "verbose", NULL) &&
+        g_key_file_get_boolean(keyfile, "general", "verbose", &gerr)) {
+        /* enable all log levels */
+        config->log_level = G_LOG_LEVEL_MASK;
+    }
+    if (g_key_file_has_key(keyfile, "general", "blacklist", NULL)) {
+        config->bliststr =
+            g_key_file_get_string(keyfile, "general", "blacklist", &gerr);
+        config->blacklist = g_list_concat(config->blacklist,
+                                          split_list(config->bliststr, ","));
+    }
+
+end:
+    g_key_file_free(keyfile);
+    if (gerr &&
+        !(gerr->domain == G_FILE_ERROR && gerr->code == G_FILE_ERROR_NOENT)) {
+        g_critical("error loading configuration from path: %s, %s",
+                   QGA_CONF_DEFAULT, gerr->message);
+        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+    }
+    g_clear_error(&gerr);
+}
+
+static gchar *list_join(GList *list, const gchar separator)
+{
+    GString *str = g_string_new("");
+
+    while (list) {
+        str = g_string_append(str, (gchar *)list->data);
+        list = g_list_next(list);
+        if (list) {
+            str = g_string_append_c(str, separator);
+        }
+    }
+
+    return g_string_free(str, FALSE);
+}
+
+static void config_dump(GAConfig *config)
+{
+    GError *error = NULL;
+    GKeyFile *keyfile;
+    gchar *tmp;
+
+    keyfile = g_key_file_new();
+    g_assert(keyfile);
+
+    g_key_file_set_boolean(keyfile, "general", "daemon", config->daemonize);
+    g_key_file_set_string(keyfile, "general", "method", config->method);
+    g_key_file_set_string(keyfile, "general", "path", config->channel_path);
+    if (config->log_filepath) {
+        g_key_file_set_string(keyfile, "general", "logfile",
+                              config->log_filepath);
+    }
+    g_key_file_set_string(keyfile, "general", "pidfile", config->pid_filepath);
+#ifdef CONFIG_FSFREEZE
+    if (config->fsfreeze_hook) {
+        g_key_file_set_string(keyfile, "general", "fsfreeze-hook",
+                              config->fsfreeze_hook);
+    }
+#endif
+    g_key_file_set_string(keyfile, "general", "statedir", config->state_dir);
+    g_key_file_set_boolean(keyfile, "general", "verbose",
+                           config->log_level == G_LOG_LEVEL_MASK);
+    tmp = list_join(config->blacklist, ',');
+    g_key_file_set_string(keyfile, "general", "blacklist", tmp);
+    g_free(tmp);
+
+    tmp = g_key_file_to_data(keyfile, NULL, &error);
+    printf("%s", tmp);
+
+    g_free(tmp);
+    g_key_file_free(keyfile);
+}
+
+static void config_parse(GAConfig *config, int argc, char **argv)
+{
+    const char *sopt = "hVvdm:p:l:f:F::b:s:t:D";
+    int opt_ind = 0, ch;
     const struct option lopt[] = {
         { "help", 0, NULL, 'h' },
         { "version", 0, NULL, 'V' },
+        { "dump-conf", 0, NULL, 'D' },
         { "logfile", 1, NULL, 'l' },
         { "pidfile", 1, NULL, 'f' },
 #ifdef CONFIG_FSFREEZE
@@ -953,141 +1081,115 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
         { "statedir", 1, NULL, 't' },
         { NULL, 0, NULL, 0 }
     };
-    int opt_ind = 0, ch, daemonize = 0, i, j, len;
-    GLogLevelFlags log_level = G_LOG_LEVEL_ERROR | G_LOG_LEVEL_CRITICAL;
-    GList *blacklist = NULL;
-    GAState *s;
 
-    module_call_init(MODULE_INIT_QAPI);
-
-    init_dfl_pathnames();
-    pid_filepath = dfl_pathnames.pidfile;
-    state_dir = dfl_pathnames.state_dir;
+    config->log_level = G_LOG_LEVEL_ERROR | G_LOG_LEVEL_CRITICAL;
 
     while ((ch = getopt_long(argc, argv, sopt, lopt, &opt_ind)) != -1) {
         switch (ch) {
         case 'm':
-            method = optarg;
+            g_free(config->method);
+            config->method = g_strdup(optarg);
             break;
         case 'p':
-            path = optarg;
+            g_free(config->channel_path);
+            config->channel_path = g_strdup(optarg);
             break;
         case 'l':
-            log_filepath = optarg;
+            g_free(config->log_filepath);
+            config->log_filepath = g_strdup(optarg);
             break;
         case 'f':
-            pid_filepath = optarg;
+            g_free(config->pid_filepath);
+            config->pid_filepath = g_strdup(optarg);
             break;
 #ifdef CONFIG_FSFREEZE
         case 'F':
-            fsfreeze_hook = optarg ? optarg : QGA_FSFREEZE_HOOK_DEFAULT;
+            g_free(config->fsfreeze_hook);
+            config->fsfreeze_hook = g_strdup(optarg ?: QGA_FSFREEZE_HOOK_DEFAULT);
             break;
 #endif
         case 't':
-             state_dir = optarg;
-             break;
+            g_free(config->state_dir);
+            config->state_dir = g_strdup(optarg);
+            break;
         case 'v':
             /* enable all log levels */
-            log_level = G_LOG_LEVEL_MASK;
+            config->log_level = G_LOG_LEVEL_MASK;
             break;
         case 'V':
             printf("QEMU Guest Agent %s\n", QEMU_VERSION);
-            return 0;
+            exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
         case 'd':
-            daemonize = 1;
+            config->daemonize = 1;
+            break;
+        case 'D':
+            config->dumpconf = 1;
             break;
         case 'b': {
             if (is_help_option(optarg)) {
                 qmp_for_each_command(ga_print_cmd, NULL);
-                return 0;
-            }
-            for (j = 0, i = 0, len = strlen(optarg); i < len; i++) {
-                if (optarg[i] == ',') {
-                    optarg[i] = 0;
-                    blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, &optarg[j]);
-                    j = i + 1;
-                }
-            }
-            if (j < i) {
-                blacklist = g_list_append(blacklist, &optarg[j]);
+                exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
             }
+            config->blacklist = g_list_concat(config->blacklist,
+                                             split_list(optarg, ","));
             break;
         }
 #ifdef _WIN32
         case 's':
-            service = optarg;
-            if (strcmp(service, "install") == 0) {
-                const char *fixed_state_dir;
-
-                /* If the user passed the "-t" option, we save that state dir
-                 * in the service. Otherwise we let the service fetch the state
-                 * dir from the environment when it starts.
-                 */
-                fixed_state_dir = (state_dir == dfl_pathnames.state_dir) ?
-                                  NULL :
-                                  state_dir;
+            config->service = optarg;
+            if (strcmp(config->service, "install") == 0) {
                 if (ga_install_vss_provider()) {
-                    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+                    exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
                 }
-                if (ga_install_service(path, log_filepath, fixed_state_dir)) {
-                    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+                if (ga_install_service(config->channel_path,
+                                       config->log_filepath, config->state_dir)) {
+                    exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
                 }
-                return 0;
-            } else if (strcmp(service, "uninstall") == 0) {
+                exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
+            } else if (strcmp(config->service, "uninstall") == 0) {
                 ga_uninstall_vss_provider();
-                return ga_uninstall_service();
-            } else if (strcmp(service, "vss-install") == 0) {
+                exit(ga_uninstall_service());
+            } else if (strcmp(config->service, "vss-install") == 0) {
                 if (ga_install_vss_provider()) {
-                    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+                    exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
                 }
-                return EXIT_SUCCESS;
-            } else if (strcmp(service, "vss-uninstall") == 0) {
+                exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
+            } else if (strcmp(config->service, "vss-uninstall") == 0) {
                 ga_uninstall_vss_provider();
-                return EXIT_SUCCESS;
+                exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
             } else {
                 printf("Unknown service command.\n");
-                return EXIT_FAILURE;
+                exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
             }
             break;
 #endif
         case 'h':
             usage(argv[0]);
-            return 0;
+            exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
         case '?':
             g_print("Unknown option, try '%s --help' for more information.\n",
                     argv[0]);
-            return EXIT_FAILURE;
+            exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
         }
     }
+}
 
-#ifdef _WIN32
-    /* On win32 the state directory is application specific (be it the default
-     * or a user override). We got past the command line parsing; let's create
-     * the directory (with any intermediate directories). If we run into an
-     * error later on, we won't try to clean up the directory, it is considered
-     * persistent.
-     */
-    if (g_mkdir_with_parents(state_dir, S_IRWXU) == -1) {
-        g_critical("unable to create (an ancestor of) the state directory"
-                   " '%s': %s", state_dir, strerror(errno));
-        return EXIT_FAILURE;
-    }
-#endif
-
-    s = g_malloc0(sizeof(GAState));
-    s->log_level = log_level;
-    s->log_file = stderr;
+static void config_free(GAConfig *config)
+{
+    g_free(config->method);
+    g_free(config->log_filepath);
+    g_free(config->pid_filepath);
+    g_free(config->state_dir);
+    g_free(config->channel_path);
+    g_free(config->bliststr);
 #ifdef CONFIG_FSFREEZE
-    s->fsfreeze_hook = fsfreeze_hook;
+    g_free(config->fsfreeze_hook);
 #endif
-    g_log_set_default_handler(ga_log, s);
-    g_log_set_fatal_mask(NULL, G_LOG_LEVEL_ERROR);
-    ga_enable_logging(s);
-    s->state_filepath_isfrozen = g_strdup_printf("%s/qga.state.isfrozen",
-                                                 state_dir);
-    s->pstate_filepath = g_strdup_printf("%s/qga.state", state_dir);
-    s->frozen = false;
+    g_free(config);
+}
 
+static bool check_is_frozen(GAState *s)
+{
 #ifndef _WIN32
     /* check if a previous instance of qemu-ga exited with filesystems' state
      * marked as frozen. this could be a stale value (a non-qemu-ga process
@@ -1113,32 +1215,56 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
                   " guest-fsfreeze-thaw is issued, or filesystems are"
                   " manually unfrozen and the file %s is removed",
                   s->state_filepath_isfrozen);
-        s->frozen = true;
+        return true;
+    }
+#endif
+    return false;
+}
+
+static int run_agent(GAState *s, GAConfig *config)
+{
+    ga_state = s;
+
+    g_log_set_default_handler(ga_log, s);
+    g_log_set_fatal_mask(NULL, G_LOG_LEVEL_ERROR);
+    ga_enable_logging(s);
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    /* On win32 the state directory is application specific (be it the default
+     * or a user override). We got past the command line parsing; let's create
+     * the directory (with any intermediate directories). If we run into an
+     * error later on, we won't try to clean up the directory, it is considered
+     * persistent.
+     */
+    if (g_mkdir_with_parents(config->state_dir, S_IRWXU) == -1) {
+        g_critical("unable to create (an ancestor of) the state directory"
+                   " '%s': %s", config->state_dir, strerror(errno));
+        return EXIT_FAILURE;
     }
 #endif
 
     if (ga_is_frozen(s)) {
-        if (daemonize) {
+        if (config->daemonize) {
             /* delay opening/locking of pidfile till filesystems are unfrozen */
-            s->deferred_options.pid_filepath = pid_filepath;
+            s->deferred_options.pid_filepath = config->pid_filepath;
             become_daemon(NULL);
         }
-        if (log_filepath) {
+        if (config->log_filepath) {
             /* delay opening the log file till filesystems are unfrozen */
-            s->deferred_options.log_filepath = log_filepath;
+            s->deferred_options.log_filepath = config->log_filepath;
         }
         ga_disable_logging(s);
         qmp_for_each_command(ga_disable_non_whitelisted, NULL);
     } else {
-        if (daemonize) {
-            become_daemon(pid_filepath);
+        if (config->daemonize) {
+            become_daemon(config->pid_filepath);
         }
-        if (log_filepath) {
-            FILE *log_file = ga_open_logfile(log_filepath);
+        if (config->log_filepath) {
+            FILE *log_file = ga_open_logfile(config->log_filepath);
             if (!log_file) {
                 g_critical("unable to open specified log file: %s",
                            strerror(errno));
-                goto out_bad;
+                return EXIT_FAILURE;
             }
             s->log_file = log_file;
         }
@@ -1149,17 +1275,18 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
                                s->pstate_filepath,
                                ga_is_frozen(s))) {
         g_critical("failed to load persistent state");
-        goto out_bad;
+        return EXIT_FAILURE;
     }
 
-    blacklist = ga_command_blacklist_init(blacklist);
-    if (blacklist) {
-        s->blacklist = blacklist;
+    config->blacklist = ga_command_blacklist_init(config->blacklist);
+    if (config->blacklist) {
+        GList *l = config->blacklist;
+        s->blacklist = config->blacklist;
         do {
-            g_debug("disabling command: %s", (char *)blacklist->data);
-            qmp_disable_command(blacklist->data);
-            blacklist = g_list_next(blacklist);
-        } while (blacklist);
+            g_debug("disabling command: %s", (char *)l->data);
+            qmp_disable_command(l->data);
+            l = g_list_next(l);
+        } while (l);
     }
     s->command_state = ga_command_state_new();
     ga_command_state_init(s, s->command_state);
@@ -1169,19 +1296,19 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 #ifndef _WIN32
     if (!register_signal_handlers()) {
         g_critical("failed to register signal handlers");
-        goto out_bad;
+        return EXIT_FAILURE;
     }
 #endif
 
     s->main_loop = g_main_loop_new(NULL, false);
-    if (!channel_init(ga_state, method, path)) {
+    if (!channel_init(ga_state, config->method, config->channel_path)) {
         g_critical("failed to initialize guest agent channel");
-        goto out_bad;
+        return EXIT_FAILURE;
     }
 #ifndef _WIN32
     g_main_loop_run(ga_state->main_loop);
 #else
-    if (daemonize) {
+    if (config->daemonize) {
         SERVICE_TABLE_ENTRY service_table[] = {
             { (char *)QGA_SERVICE_NAME, service_main }, { NULL, NULL } };
         StartServiceCtrlDispatcher(service_table);
@@ -1190,17 +1317,85 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     }
 #endif
 
-    ga_command_state_cleanup_all(ga_state->command_state);
-    ga_channel_free(ga_state->channel);
-
-    if (daemonize) {
-        unlink(pid_filepath);
-    }
-    return 0;
-
-out_bad:
-    if (daemonize) {
-        unlink(pid_filepath);
-    }
-    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+    return EXIT_SUCCESS;
+}
+
+static void free_blacklist_entry(gpointer entry, gpointer unused)
+{
+    g_free(entry);
+}
+
+int main(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+    int ret = EXIT_SUCCESS;
+    GAState *s = g_new0(GAState, 1);
+    GAConfig *config = g_new0(GAConfig, 1);
+
+    module_call_init(MODULE_INIT_QAPI);
+
+    init_dfl_pathnames();
+    config_load(config);
+    config_parse(config, argc, argv);
+
+    if (config->pid_filepath == NULL) {
+        config->pid_filepath = g_strdup(dfl_pathnames.pidfile);
+    }
+
+    if (config->state_dir == NULL) {
+        config->state_dir = g_strdup(dfl_pathnames.state_dir);
+    }
+
+    if (config->method == NULL) {
+        config->method = g_strdup("virtio-serial");
+    }
+
+    if (config->channel_path == NULL) {
+        if (strcmp(config->method, "virtio-serial") == 0) {
+            /* try the default path for the virtio-serial port */
+            config->channel_path = g_strdup(QGA_VIRTIO_PATH_DEFAULT);
+        } else if (strcmp(config->method, "isa-serial") == 0) {
+            /* try the default path for the serial port - COM1 */
+            config->channel_path = g_strdup(QGA_SERIAL_PATH_DEFAULT);
+        } else {
+            g_critical("must specify a path for this channel");
+            ret = EXIT_FAILURE;
+            goto end;
+        }
+    }
+
+    s->log_level = config->log_level;
+    s->log_file = stderr;
+#ifdef CONFIG_FSFREEZE
+    s->fsfreeze_hook = config->fsfreeze_hook;
+#endif
+    s->pstate_filepath = g_strdup_printf("%s/qga.state", config->state_dir);
+    s->state_filepath_isfrozen = g_strdup_printf("%s/qga.state.isfrozen",
+                                                 config->state_dir);
+    s->frozen = check_is_frozen(s);
+
+    if (config->dumpconf) {
+        config_dump(config);
+        goto end;
+    }
+
+    ret = run_agent(s, config);
+
+end:
+    if (s->command_state) {
+        ga_command_state_cleanup_all(s->command_state);
+    }
+    if (s->channel) {
+        ga_channel_free(s->channel);
+    }
+    g_list_foreach(config->blacklist, free_blacklist_entry, NULL);
+    g_free(s->pstate_filepath);
+    g_free(s->state_filepath_isfrozen);
+
+    if (config->daemonize) {
+        unlink(config->pid_filepath);
+    }
+
+    config_free(config);
+
+    return ret;
 }
diff --git a/qga/qapi-schema.json b/qga/qapi-schema.json
index 18e3cc37d4..6b0bd163c3 100644
--- a/qga/qapi-schema.json
+++ b/qga/qapi-schema.json
@@ -793,7 +793,7 @@
 # scheme. Refer to the documentation of the guest operating system
 # in question to determine what is supported.
 #
-# Note all guest operating systems will support use of the
+# Not all guest operating systems will support use of the
 # @crypted flag, as they may require the clear-text password
 #
 # The @password parameter must always be base64 encoded before