A Windows VM on ESXi installs quickly when three things are decided in advance: the controller, the network adapter and the driver floppy. Here is the complete order - settings, install, the famous empty-disk fix and VMware Tools.
Installing Windows on ESXi is genuinely fast - until one famous screen. The VM is created, the ISO boots, Setup starts... and the disk list is empty. That moment is not a failure, it is a missing driver, and it is completely predictable. This guide walks the whole job in the order that avoids it: the VM settings that matter, the ISO upload, the PVSCSI driver step, and VMware Tools - the install that turns a sluggish generic VM into a proper guest.
In the ESXi Host Client or vSphere Client, choose Create / Register VM, then Create a new virtual machine. Select the guest family Windows and the exact version you are installing - this choice matters more than it looks, because ESXi uses it to pre-select the hardware: for modern Windows versions the wizard defaults the storage controller to VMware Paravirtual (PVSCSI), the fastest option. Keep it. Just know that this one default creates the famous empty-disk screen later, and step 4 below is the planned answer to it, not a surprise.
The wizard offers two realistic choices and they are not equal. VMXNET 3 is the high-performance adapter - up to 10 Gbps and the lowest CPU cost - but Windows Setup carries no driver for it, so the fresh VM has no network until VMware Tools is installed. E1000E emulates a common Intel card, Windows has the driver built in, and networking works from the first minute - but it is capped at 1 Gbps and uses more host CPU. For the smoothest first install, either accept no network during setup and install Tools immediately after, or start with E1000E and switch to VMXNET 3 once Tools is in. Decide now, because changing the adapter later changes the MAC address and the guest sees a brand-new network card.
The ISO must live on the host, not on your laptop. In the datastore browser, open the datastore, create a folder such as ISO and upload the Windows image there. This takes a few minutes on a gigabit LAN - do it once and every future VM uses the same copy. Then edit the VM, point CD/DVD Drive 1 at that ISO, tick Connect and Connect at power on. Forgetting the connect tick is the silliest common failure: the VM powers on, finds no boot device, and sits on a black screen that looks far more serious than it is.
.iso fileWindows Setup stops at Where do you want to install Windows? and the list is empty. Nothing is broken: the disk hangs off the PVSCSI controller and the Windows disc simply has no driver for it. Add a floppy drive to the VM (Edit settings - Add other device - Floppy drive) and connect the driver image that ships with every ESXi host, then use Load driver in Setup:
/vmimages/floppies/pvscsi-Windows2008.flpThe honest alternative also exists: build the VM with the LSI Logic SAS controller, whose driver Windows already carries, install Windows, install VMware Tools, shut down, and switch the controller to PVSCSI. It works, but the floppy route above is shorter and is the method worth learning.
Finish Setup as you would on a physical PC. The moment the desktop appears, install VMware Tools before anything else: in the console menu choose Guest OS - Install/Upgrade VMware Tools, then run setup.exe from the mounted Tools disc inside the guest and reboot. Tools is not optional polish - it delivers the real display driver (the generic one is why the console looks blurry and lags), the VMXNET 3 network driver, clean shutdown and reboot from the host, time synchronisation and accurate performance counters. Half of all "my ESXi Windows VM feels broken" complaints end at this one install.
Run Windows Update until it stops offering updates, then take a snapshot of the clean machine and name it honestly, for example Clean install - before software. A snapshot is a rollback point, not a backup - delete it once the VM proves stable for a few days, because long-lived snapshots slow the VM and quietly eat datastore space. Finally, activate Windows with a proper licence: a VM needs its own licence just like a physical PC, and an OEM licence tied to old hardware does not move into a VM. Skipping activation leaves a watermarked, limited Windows that will nag at the worst possible moment.
Every click shown live - creating the VM, loading the driver and installing VMware Tools.
Watch Full VideoBecause the VM uses the VMware Paravirtual (PVSCSI) storage controller and the Windows disc has no driver for it. Connect the host floppy image pvscsi-Windows2008.flp to the VM, click Load driver in Setup, choose VMware PVSCSI Controller, and the disk appears.
VMXNET 3 is faster (up to 10 Gbps, less host CPU) but Windows has no built-in driver, so networking starts only after VMware Tools is installed. E1000E works immediately but caps at 1 Gbps. Either start with E1000E and switch later, or use VMXNET 3 and install Tools first thing.
Yes. Tools provides the proper SVGA display driver, the VMXNET 3 driver, graceful shutdown from the host, time sync and reliable performance data. A Windows VM without Tools feels laggy, shuts down by force and reports wrong statistics - most 'ESXi is slow' complaints are just missing Tools.