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Proxmox VE Guide

Install Windows on a Proxmox Server the Complete Step by Step Guide

Windows installs almost like a normal PC on Proxmox - except for two screens that stop every beginner. This guide walks the full install and fixes both, the right way.

Technical AnshuProxmox VEWindows 11 / 10 / Server
Watch the full Windows on Proxmox installation, step by step, in the video above

You have a Proxmox server and you want a proper Windows machine running on it - for remote work, testing, or a small office service. The install itself is easy, but it has two famous traps: Windows Setup finds no disk, and later it finds no network. Both traps have the same cause - the missing VirtIO drivers - and this guide handles both at the exact moment they appear.

Windows Setup - Where do you want to install Windows?
No drives were found
Windows Setup cannot see the virtual disk, because the VirtIO storage driver is not inside Windows.
The fix in one line
Click Load driver, open the virtio-win CDvioscsi\w11\amd64
Disk appears, install continues normallySOLVED
The one screen that stops almost every first-time Windows install on Proxmox - and its one-minute fix
1

Keep Two ISO Files Ready Before You Start

Every Windows install on Proxmox needs two ISO files on the server, not one. Upload both to your ISO storage first: in the Proxmox web panel, select the storage, open ISO Images and use Upload.

  1. The Windows ISO itself - Windows 11, Windows 10 or Windows Server, downloaded from Microsoft.
  2. The virtio-win ISO - the free VirtIO driver disc for Windows guests. Proxmox documentation points to it for every Windows install; without it, Windows Setup cannot even see your virtual disk properly.

Honest note: the virtio-win disc is not optional decoration. It carries the storage driver, the network driver and the QEMU guest agent that this whole guide depends on.

2

Create the VM and Tick the VirtIO Drivers Box

Click Create VM in the top right of the Proxmox panel and walk through the wizard:

  1. General: give the VM a name, for example Win11. Note the VM ID Proxmox assigns.
  2. OS: select your Windows ISO. Set Guest OS Type to Microsoft Windows and the version to 11/2022/2025 for Windows 11 or Server 2022/2025. Now tick Add additional drive for VirtIO drivers and select the virtio-win ISO - this attaches the driver disc as a second CD drive automatically.
  3. System: set BIOS to OVMF (UEFI) and Machine to q35, tick Add EFI Disk and Add TPM (version 2.0) if you are installing Windows 11, keep the SCSI controller as VirtIO SCSI single, and tick Qemu Agent.
  4. Disks: keep the bus as SCSI and give Windows 11 at least 64 GB. A smaller disk works for a quick test, but updates will fill it fast.
  5. CPU: 2 to 4 cores for a normal guest. If this VM will never live-migrate to another host, set the CPU type to host later for the best speed.
  6. Memory: 4096 MB is the practical minimum for Windows 11; give more if the server has it.
  7. Network: keep the model as VirtIO (paravirtualized) on your bridge, usually vmbr0. Setup will not see this network card until its driver is installed - that is expected, and fixed below.
3

Start the VM and Reach the Disk Screen

Select the new VM, click Start, then open the Console. When the screen asks, press any key to boot from the CD. Windows Setup starts exactly like a normal PC install: pick your language, click Install now, choose the edition your licence covers, and accept the licence terms.

Then comes the screen in the picture above: Where do you want to install Windows? - with an empty list. Do not panic and do not rebuild the VM. Nothing is broken. Windows simply has no driver for the VirtIO storage controller yet, so the disk is invisible to it.

4

The VirtIO Moment - Load the Storage Driver

This is the one step that makes a Proxmox install different from a physical PC install:

  1. On the empty disk screen, click Load driver, then Browse.
  2. Open the virtio-win CD drive (the second CD you attached in the wizard).
  3. Because your disk hangs on the VirtIO SCSI controller, open the folder vioscsi\w11\amd64 - use the folder matching your Windows version, for example w10 for Windows 10 or 2k22 for Server 2022. (If you had chosen a VirtIO Block disk instead, the folder is viostor.)
  4. Select the Red Hat VirtIO SCSI controller driver and click Next.

The disk appears in the list within seconds. Select it, click New if you want Setup to partition it, then Next - from here the installation is a completely normal Windows install.

5

Finish Setup Even Though There Is No Network Yet

Because the network card is also VirtIO, Windows Setup cannot see it either, so Windows 11 may stop at the Let us connect you to a network screen. This is the second expected hurdle, not a failure. You have two clean ways through:

  1. Press Shift + F10 to open a command prompt, browse to the virtio-win CD and run virtio-win-guest-tools.exe - it installs every driver including the network driver, and the network screen clears.
  2. Or finish setup offline using the option your build offers, and install the drivers on the desktop in the next step.

One honest warning: Microsoft keeps changing the offline-setup behaviour between builds, so do not treat any single bypass command as permanent. The driver install route always works, because it fixes the actual cause.

6

First Desktop Job - Install the Guest Tools

The moment you reach the Windows desktop, open the virtio-win CD in File Explorer and run virtio-win-guest-tools.exe. One installer gives the guest everything it was missing:

  1. The network driver (NetKVM), so the VM gets an IP address and internet.
  2. The storage and balloon drivers, so disk and memory work the way Proxmox expects.
  3. The QEMU guest agent, so Proxmox can read the VM's IP addresses, shut it down cleanly and take consistent backups.

Restart once, then open Device Manager: no yellow warning marks should remain. In the Proxmox Summary page for the VM, the IP addresses should now be listed - that is your proof the guest agent is alive.

7

Which Windows Are You Installing - Desktop or Server

A short honest word before you build habits on this VM. Windows 11 or 10 is right for a personal desktop, testing and single-user remote work. Windows Server is right when the VM must serve others - file shares, Active Directory, or several people connecting at once, because desktop Windows allows only one interactive remote session and is not licensed or built as a multi-user server. Both install exactly the same way in this guide. Both also need their own proper Windows licence - a VM does not make Windows free, and this guide's licensing page explains what that means in practice.

The two screens beginners mistake for a broken install - no disk found and no network found - are both just missing VirtIO drivers. Load vioscsi at the disk screen, install virtio-win-guest-tools.exe on the desktop, and both disappear for good.

Watch the Complete Video Guide

Every screen of this install - the VM wizard, the Load driver moment and the guest tools setup - is shown live in the Technical Anshu video.

Watch Full Video
Common Questions (FAQ)

Why does Windows Setup show no disk on Proxmox?

Because the virtual disk sits on a VirtIO storage controller and Windows has no driver for it built in. Click Load driver on that screen, browse the virtio-win CD, open the vioscsi folder for your Windows version (for example vioscsi\w11\amd64), load the Red Hat VirtIO SCSI controller driver, and the disk appears immediately.

Do I need a TPM and UEFI for every Windows on Proxmox?

Only Windows 11 insists on them: it needs OVMF (UEFI), an EFI disk and a TPM 2.0 in the VM settings. Windows 10 and Windows Server install happily with the same settings too, so using OVMF and q35 for everything keeps all your VMs consistent.

My VM has no internet after installing Windows. What is wrong?

The VirtIO network card also needs its driver. Run virtio-win-guest-tools.exe from the virtio-win CD on the Windows desktop - it installs the NetKVM network driver along with all the other drivers and the QEMU guest agent in one go.

This guide is based on the Technical Anshu video on installing Windows on a Proxmox server. Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments - you will get an answer there.