Of course, many companies may need an Operating System (OS) other than Linux, such as Windows.
So, the setup is not a simple, straightforward installation like Linux. There are special drivers needed and even some special settings to change the virtual hardware.
We can go through these steps to get Windows 11 running.
Download Drivers
The Windows system we install will use Virtual I/O (VirtIO) drivers. The VirtIO drivers allow a virtual machine to use the actual host hardware directly instead of through an emulator that 'pretends' to be the hardware.
To get the VirtIO drivers, we need them as an ISO, you need to open the website link of 'https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/stable-virtio/virtio-win.iso'. The link points to the most recent stable version that is available. At the time of writing this article, the most recent stable file version is '0.1.285'.
Also, on the ISO for VirtIO is the Guest Agent for Windows. The QEMU Guest Agent is called 'qemu-ga-x86_64.msi', which is found on the VirtIO ISO in a folder named 'guest-agent'.
We haven't covered the uses of the 'QEMU Guest Agent', but the advantages are:
- Accurate time sync between Host and VM
- Graceful shutdowns and reboots
- Real-time resource monitoring
- Consistent backups
- Improved snapshot abilities
So, when you can, use the Guest Agent for better capabilities from the Proxmox Web UI.
You also need a Windows 11 ISO installation file. So, to make this work, you need to be sure to have the following two files:
- Windows 11.ISO (it will most likely be named differently)
- virtio-win-0.1.285.iso (the version number may be different)
Once you have these files downloaded to your local system, you are ready to begin.
Upload Required Files to Proxmox Server
We did this process when we uploaded the Linux Installation ISO to the server, but we will go over it again for this process.
In the Proxmox Web UI, select the node in the left pane on which you want to install the Windows virtual machine. Below it should be labeled 'local (pve1)', which the Node name for my system is 'pve1', so your line may be labeled differently. Find the line that is 'local (node name)'.
In the middle pane is a line that reads 'ISO Images'. Now, in the right pane, there should be listed any files already uploaded to the node. Just above the list is a button labeled 'Upload'. Click on Upload and then you should see the new window, as shown in Figure 1. Select 'Select File' and then browse to find the file you want to upload to the node. Once you have selected a file, the screen will change to show the file name with its location and the file size. If you want the file;'s hash checked to verify the file, you can add this information as well. Click on 'Upload' when the information required has been filled in properly. Once you have uploaded one of the required files, then upload the second file that we need to install a Windows VM. After the upload is completed, you will see a task screen to give the information about the upload and to tell if it was successful.
FIGURE 1
Create VM
In the left pane, click on the node on which the VM will be created. In my case, this is 'PVE1'.
In the top right corner, click on 'Create VM' to begin the creation process.
For screenshots of the process, you can look at the previous article 'Proxmox 04 – Linux Virtual Machine'. The screens will be the same, but the information we provide will be different.
The Node and VMID should already be filled in for the new window, so do not change these. For the 'Name' entry, type in a name for the Virtual Machine, such as 'Win11'. Click 'Next'.
The next screen is the 'OS' tab. From the drop-down list, choose the Windows ISO for 'ISO Image'. Under 'Guest OS', set the 'Type' to 'Microsoft Windows' and the version is '11/2022/2025'. Click on the checkbox 'Add additional drive for VirtIO Drivers'. A new entry should appear for the VirtIO driver, so select the file for the VirtIO drivers. Click 'Next'.
On the 'System' tab, you need to enable the options for 'QEMU Agent' and 'TPM Storage'. The 'BIOS' setting should default to 'OVMF (UEFI)'; if not, then it should be changed. The options for 'EFI Storage' and 'TPM Storage' should have only one choice in the drop-down box of 'local-lvm'. Click 'Next'.
For the 'Disks' tab, the default disk size should be set to '32 GB'. You need to increase it to 55 GB or larger. Click 'Next'.
On the 'CPU' tab, you can increase the number of cores if you wish. Click 'Next'.
The 'Memory' tab should be the next one that appears. You can increase the amount of RAM allocated to the VM if you want more than '4096 MB'. Click 'Next'.
At the 'Network' tab, we need to make sure that the 'Model' is 'VirtIO (paravirtualized)'. This will cause Windows not to find a Network Interface Card during setup, but this is a way to see how to change hardware settings later. Click 'Next'.
For 'Summary', you can look over the settings, but just click on 'Finish'.
In the left pane, select the VMID of the VM that you created, and the name of the Virtual Machine you created should follow it, listed in parentheses. Mine, for example, is '101 (Win11)'. After you select it, click on 'Start' in the top right and then click on '>_ Console'. You could also double-click the VMID to start it, but then you need to click on the button 'Start Now'.
The VM should start now and begin installing Windows 11. If you get an error about a boot device not being found, enter the UEFI settings and select a different boot device from the list. It should be a CD/DVD. If one doesn't work, choose the other. You should see a quick message that says you should press a key to boot from CD/DVD, so press a key quickly.
Go through the process as normal until you reach the choice for a disk to use for the installation.
There is no drive listed to use as an installation medium. Click on 'Load Driver'. Click on 'Browse' and a listing of drives should appear. Choose the drive labeled as 'virtio-win-0.1.285'. Dropdown the list of folders and select 'amd64' and under it the Windows version (w11). Click on 'OK'. You should then be prompted with a driver to load, 'Red Hat VirtIO SCSI pass-through controller'. It should be followed by the path and file location of the driver in parentheses. Click 'Next' and it should load the driver. After it is loaded, see a listing of the VirtIO drive. Click on 'New' to create a new partition on the drive. You are prompted to specify the amount of space to use, which the default is fine, so click 'Apply'. It will present a message to inform you that Windows needs to set up extra partitions, so click on 'OK'. There should be three partitions set up on the partition now. Click 'Next'.
Windows should now be installed as a VM. Let the installation finish and click on 'Reboot'. After the reboot, the VM should boot from the Virtual Hard Disk and not either of the CD/DVD drives.
You will need to go through the setup once it starts. When you reach the Network Connection information, there will be no Network Interface Card found. In the middle pane of the Proxmox Web UI, select 'Hardware'. This is the hardware information for the VM. Find the line for the 'Network Device' and double-click it. A window should appear with the network settings. For the 'Model', change it to 'Intel E1000', then click 'OK'. Switch from 'Hardware' back to the 'Console' option in the middle pane. Windows should detect the change and show a device for the network. Be aware that some hardware settings can be changed on-the-fly, while others require a reboot for the changes to take effect. Continue and complete the Windows Setup.
Once Windows is completely installed, open the Device Manager. In the list of all installed devices, there should be two devices in 'Other Devices' that were not detected properly since they could not be found. Double-click on one, go to the 'Driver' tab. Click on the button for 'Update Driver'. You will be prompted for the location of the driver. Select 'Browse my computer for drivers'. From the list, choose the CD drive for the 'VirtIO' ISO file. Do not select a subdirectory, since the whole disk will be checked for a proper driver. Click on 'Next' to let the system search for the driver. Once it is found, click on 'Close'. Do the same procedure for the second device that was not set up. After both devices are loaded with the proper drivers, you can close the Device Manager.
QEMU Guest Agent
Next, we need to install the Guest Agent to allow the VM to be managed better by Proxmox.
Open the Folders app and browse to the CD of the 'VirtIO' ISO. Go to the sub-folder labeled 'guest-agent'.
From within the folder, there should be two files. One is 32-bit and the other is 64-bit. Double-click on the file 'qemu-ga-x86_64.msi'. After it starts, you'll be prompted with a window stating that the publisher is unknown. Click 'Yes' to allow the Guest Agent to be installed on the VM. Now, if you switch to the 'Summary' option in the middle pane, you can see that the IP option shows the IP address of the Windows VM.
Conclusion
Now you should have a basic understanding of setting up a Linux and Windows VM if you read both articles.
There are many options available for creating a VM on the many tabs, but we touched on a few to set up a basic system. You can find out more information on these in the documentation. To do this, click on 'Documentation' in the top right corner of the Proxmox Web UI.