diff --git a/image.tf b/image.tf
index 7722b1d..dda00de 100644
--- a/image.tf
+++ b/image.tf
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ locals {
 
   talos_image_extensions = distinct(
     concat(
+      ["siderolabs/qemu-guest-agent"],
       var.talos_image_extensions,
       var.longhorn_enabled ? local.talos_image_extentions_longhorn : []
     )
diff --git a/packer/image_amd64.pkr.hcl b/packer/image_amd64.pkr.hcl
index 6871d07..da8d0c0 100644
--- a/packer/image_amd64.pkr.hcl
+++ b/packer/image_amd64.pkr.hcl
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ build {
       <<-EOT
         set -euo pipefail
 
+        # Discard the entire /dev/sda to free up space and make the snapshot smaller
+        echo 'Zeroing disk first before writing Talos image'
+        blkdiscard /dev/sda 2>/dev/null
+
         echo 'Download Talos ${var.talos_version} image (${var.talos_schematic_id})'
 
         wget \
diff --git a/packer/image_arm64.pkr.hcl b/packer/image_arm64.pkr.hcl
index 670f568..0b9a75f 100644
--- a/packer/image_arm64.pkr.hcl
+++ b/packer/image_arm64.pkr.hcl
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ build {
       <<-EOT
         set -euo pipefail
 
+        # Discard the entire /dev/sda to free up space and make the snapshot smaller
+        echo 'Zeroing disk first before writing Talos image'
+        blkdiscard /dev/sda 2>/dev/null
+
         echo 'Download Talos ${var.talos_version} image (${var.talos_schematic_id})'
 
         wget \