Install Windows 11 in Proxmox

April 15, 2023

Overview

I rarely ever use Windows any more outside of work. Still, there is an occasional need for access to a Windows machine. To satisfy this, I decided to setup Windows 11 as a VM in Proxmox. It can easily be done, as long as some specific settings are enabled and a keyboard shortcut is used during install.

Creating the VM

Go ahead and grab a copy of the latest Windows 11 ISO. It is available freely from Microsoft. The VirtIO drivers ISO will also be needed and is available here. Once you have those ISOs, you can proceed with creating the VM in Proxmox. Simply select create VM, and it will walk you through the options.

General: Nothing special here. Just decide on a name.

OS: Use the Windows 11 ISO you downloaded earlier. I’m assuming the ISO has already been uploaded to Proxmox. Change the Type to Microsoft Windows and ensure the version is 11.

System: This is where most of the differences are compared to setting up a Linux VM. Since you selected Microsoft Windows as the Type on the previous tab, this tab should already have a few things set. Machine should be q35 and BIOS should be OVMF (UEFI). You’ll need to select a location to store the TPM and EFI. I typically choose the same Proxmox disk that I’m using for the main VM disk. Go ahead and check the box for Qemu Agent.

Disks: Select where you want to store the main VM disk and give it at least 64GB. I typically check the boxes for Discard and SSD emulation.

CPU, Memory, and Network: Nothing special on these tabs.

Once you’ve created the VM, select it in Proxmox and go to the Hardware section. Click Add and select CD/DVD drive. Choose the VirtIO drivers ISO that you downloaded previously.

Installing Windows 11

Boot up the VM and step through the initial Windows 11 install screens. When it asks you what type of installation you want, select Custom. There will not be any drives available to select for installation until you install some drivers. Select Load Driver, go to the VirtIO disk -> amd64 -> w11, then click OK. Install the selected driver. Now you can pick a disk and continue with the installation.

During the Windows 11 installation, it will want to setup a network connection and will not continue without one. This posed a problem for me as I was using the VirtIO network device and that driver had not been loaded yet. If the same thing happens to you, it is possible to go ahead and load all VirtIO drivers from the ISO at this point in the installation. On the network screen, press Shift and F10 to bring up a command window. Then press the Windows key and E to launch a file explorer window. You can now navigate to the VirtIO disk and select the appropriate exe file to install the drivers. As soon as the network driver is installed, the Next button will turn blue and you can proceed with the installation.

Once the installation is complete, you’ll still want to install the Qemu guest agent as described here.

Conclusion

You should now have a functioning Windows 11 install in Proxmox. It’s not terribly difficult, but there are few things that can pop up and cause issues. If desired, don’t forget to add it to your backup schedule in Proxmox.