🖥️ Installing Windows 11 24H2 on Proxmox VE - Complete Guide

IT & Systems
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:desktop_computer: Installing Windows 11 24H2 on Proxmox VE - Complete Guide

From ISO to fully optimized virtual machine

:window::laptop::wrench::high_voltage:

So you’ve got Proxmox running and you need a Windows 11 VM. Maybe it’s for testing, remote access to Windows apps, or running software that just won’t work on Linux. Whatever the reason, this guide walks you through the entire process.

Windows 11 on Proxmox works great - once you know the tricks. Let’s get it done.

:clipboard: Prerequisites

Before we start, make sure you have:

  1. Proxmox VE host or cluster - Running and accessible via web UI
  1. Windows 11 24H2 ISO - Properly formatted, downloaded from Microsoft

  • Download: Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)

  • Select “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)” → Choose edition → Download

  1. VirtIO drivers ISO - We’ll download this (required for disk/network drivers)

  2. Adequate resources available:

  • Minimum 4GB RAM (8GB+ recommended)

  • Minimum 64GB storage (128GB+ recommended)

  • 2+ CPU cores (4+ recommended)

:inbox_tray: Step 1: Download VirtIO Drivers ISO

This step is critical. Windows doesn’t have built-in drivers for Proxmox’s virtualized hardware. Without VirtIO drivers, Windows won’t see your virtual disk during installation.

Download the VirtIO ISO

  1. Open your Proxmox web interface

  2. Navigate to your local storage (or preferred ISO storage location)

  3. Click ISO Images in the content panel

  4. Click Download from URL

VirtIO Stable ISO URL:


https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/stable-virtio/virtio-win.iso

  1. Paste the URL and click Query URL

  2. Click Download

Alternative: Download manually from Fedora VirtIO-Win and upload to Proxmox.

Verify Both ISOs Are Uploaded

In your storage → ISO Images, you should see:

  • Your Windows 11 ISO (e.g., Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso)

  • VirtIO drivers ISO (virtio-win.iso)

:wrench: Step 2: Create the Virtual Machine

Start the VM Creation Wizard

  1. Click Create VM button (top right of Proxmox web UI)

  2. Or right-click a node → Create VM

General Tab

| Setting | Value |

|---------|-------|

| Node | Select your preferred node (e.g., pve-1) |

| VM ID | Auto-assigned or choose your own (e.g., 300) |

| Name | windows11 (or descriptive name like win11-workstation) |

:white_check_mark: Check “Advanced” at the bottom to see all options.

Click Next.

OS Tab

| Setting | Value |

|---------|-------|

| Use CD/DVD disc image file (iso) | :white_check_mark: Selected |

| Storage | local (or your ISO storage) |

| ISO image | Select your Windows 11 ISO |

| Guest OS Type | Microsoft Windows |

| Version | 11/2022/2025 |

:white_check_mark: Check “Add additional drive for VirtIO drivers”

  • Storage: local (or your ISO storage)

  • ISO image: Select virtio-win.iso

Click Next.

System Tab

This is where Windows 11 requirements come in. Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0 and UEFI.

| Setting | Value |

|---------|-------|

| Graphics card | Default |

| Machine | q35 |

| BIOS | OVMF (UEFI) |

| Add EFI Disk | :white_check_mark: Checked |

| EFI Storage | Select your VM storage (e.g., local-lvm, ceph-pool) |

| Pre-Enroll keys | :white_check_mark: Checked (enables Secure Boot) |

| Add TPM | :white_check_mark: Checked |

| TPM Storage | Select your VM storage |

| TPM Version | v2.0 |

| SCSI Controller | VirtIO SCSI single |

| Qemu Agent | :white_check_mark: Checked |

Important: TPM and UEFI with Secure Boot are required for Windows 11. Without them, installation will fail with “This PC can’t run Windows 11.”

Click Next.

Disks Tab

| Setting | Value |

|---------|-------|

| Bus/Device | SCSI (default with VirtIO SCSI controller) |

| Storage | Select your VM storage (e.g., local-lvm, ceph-pool) |

| Disk size (GiB) | 128 (minimum 64, recommended 128+) |

| Cache | Write back (best performance) |

| Discard | :white_check_mark: Checked (if using SSD/thin provisioning) |

| IO Thread | :white_check_mark: Checked (improves I/O performance) |

Performance tip: If using Ceph or shared storage, Write back cache gives best performance. For local SSDs, None or Write through are also fine.

Click Next.

CPU Tab

| Setting | Value |

|---------|-------|

| Sockets | 1 |

| Cores | 4 (minimum 2, adjust based on workload) |

| Type | host (best performance) or x86-64-v2-AES |

CPU Type explanation:

  • host - Passes through your actual CPU features. Best performance, but VM can’t be live-migrated to hosts with different CPUs.

  • x86-64-v2-AES - Good compatibility and performance. Use this if you plan to migrate VMs between hosts with different CPU models.

Recommendation: Use host for single-node setups or clusters with identical hardware. Use x86-64-v2-AES if you need live migration between different CPU types.

Click Next.

Memory Tab

| Setting | Value |

|---------|-------|

| Memory (MiB) | 8192 (8GB - recommended minimum) |

| Minimum memory | Leave blank or set for ballooning |

| Ballooning Device | :white_check_mark: Checked (optional - allows dynamic memory) |

Memory recommendations:

  • Light use (web, Office): 4096 MiB (4GB)

  • General use: 8192 MiB (8GB)

  • Heavy use (development, VMs): 16384 MiB (16GB+)

Click Next.

Network Tab

| Setting | Value |

|---------|-------|

| Bridge | vmbr0 (or your network bridge) |

| Model | VirtIO (paravirtualized) |

| Firewall | :white_check_mark: or :cross_mark: based on your setup |

VirtIO network gives best performance but requires the VirtIO drivers we’ll install.

Click Next.

Confirm Tab

Review all settings. Should look something like:


Node: pve-1

VM ID: 300

Name: windows11

OS: Microsoft Windows 11/2022/2025

Machine: q35

BIOS: OVMF (UEFI)

TPM: v2.0

Disk: 128 GiB on local-lvm (VirtIO SCSI)

CPU: 4 cores (host)

Memory: 8192 MiB

Network: vmbr0 (VirtIO)

:white_check_mark: Check “Start after created” if you want to begin installation immediately.

Click Finish.

:optical_disk: Step 3: Install Windows 11

Start the VM and Open Console

  1. Select your new Windows VM in the left panel

  2. Click Start (if not already started)

  3. Click Console → noVNC (or SPICE if configured)

Boot from Windows ISO

The VM should automatically boot from the Windows ISO. If not:

  1. Click Console dropdown → Send Key → Ctrl+Alt+Delete

  2. Press a key quickly when you see “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD”

Windows Setup

1. Language and Region

  • Select your language, time format, and keyboard

  • Click Next

2. Install Now

  • Click Install now

3. Product Key

  • Enter your key, or click “I don’t have a product key” to install and activate later

4. Select Edition

  • Choose Windows 11 Pro (recommended) or your licensed edition

  • Click Next

5. License Agreement

  • Accept the terms

  • Click Next

6. Installation Type

  • Click “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)”

Load VirtIO Storage Driver

Here’s where the VirtIO drivers come in.

You’ll see: “Where do you want to install Windows?” with no drives listed.

  1. Click “Load driver”

  2. Click “Browse”

  3. Navigate to the VirtIO CD drive (usually D: or E:)

  4. Browse to: vioscsi → w11 → amd64

  • Full path: D:\vioscsi\w11\amd64

  1. Click OK

  2. Select “Red Hat VirtIO SCSI controller”

  3. Click Next

Your virtual disk should now appear!

Continue Installation

  1. Select your virtual disk (e.g., Drive 0 Unallocated Space: 128.0 GB)

  2. Click Next

  3. Windows will install - this takes 10-20 minutes

  4. VM will reboot automatically several times

:bullseye: Step 4: Windows Out of Box Experience (OOBE)

After installation, Windows 11 OOBE begins.

Region and Keyboard

  • Select your country/region

  • Select keyboard layout

  • Skip second keyboard layout (unless needed)

Network Setup

Since we haven’t installed the VirtIO network driver yet, Windows won’t detect any network adapters. This is actually fine - it lets us skip the Microsoft account requirement easily.

To skip Microsoft account and use a local account:

  1. When asked to connect to network, press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt

  2. Type: oobe\bypassnro

  3. Press Enter - PC will restart

  4. After restart, you’ll see “I don’t have internet” option

  5. Click it, then “Continue with limited setup”

Account Setup

  • Enter a username (this will be your daily driver account)

  • Set a password (can be blank for auto-login, not recommended)

  • Set security questions

Important: This first account is created as an Administrator. After setup, you should:

  1. Create a second local account as your dedicated Administrator

  2. Downgrade your daily driver account to Standard User

This separation adds a critical security layer - malware and accidental changes can’t modify system files without explicit admin approval.

:open_book: Full guide: Why You Should Ditch the Microsoft Account and Stop Using Admin

Privacy Settings

  • Disable everything you don’t need (Location, Find my device, Diagnostic data, etc.)

  • Windows 11 is aggressive with telemetry - disable what you can

:open_book: Deep dive on privacy hardening: Securing Windows 11 for Privacy - A Minimal Workstation

Complete Setup

Windows will finalize settings and boot to desktop. This may take a few minutes.

:wrench: Step 5: Install VirtIO Drivers and Guest Agent

Critical step! Your VM is running but without optimized drivers.

Open VirtIO CD in Windows

  1. Open File Explorer

  2. Navigate to the VirtIO CD drive (D: or E:)

  3. Run both of these installers:

  • virtio-win-gt-x64.msi - VirtIO drivers

  • virtio-win-guest-tools.exe - Guest tools and agent

These installers will install:

  • VirtIO Balloon driver (memory management)

  • VirtIO Serial driver (communication)

  • VirtIO Network driver (if not loaded during install)

  • VirtIO SCSI driver (if not loaded during install)

  • QEMU Guest Agent

  • SPICE agent (for enhanced graphics)

Run the Installers

First: Run virtio-win-gt-x64.msi

  1. Double-click virtio-win-gt-x64.msi

  2. Click Next through the wizard

  3. Accept license agreement

  4. Choose Complete installation

  5. Click Install

  6. Click Finish

Second: Run virtio-win-guest-tools.exe

  1. Double-click virtio-win-guest-tools.exe

  2. Follow the installation prompts

  3. Click Finish

  4. Reboot Windows

Verify Guest Agent

After reboot, in Proxmox web UI:

  1. Select your Windows VM

  2. Look at the Summary tab

  3. You should see the VM’s IP address and other details

  4. Under Guest Agent, status should show as connected

:high_voltage: Step 6: Post-Installation Optimization

Remove VirtIO ISO from VM

  1. In Proxmox, select your Windows VM

  2. Go to Hardware tab

  3. Select the CD/DVD drive with virtio-win.iso

  4. Click Edit → Do not use any media

  5. Optionally remove the Windows ISO drive too

Enable Remote Desktop (Optional)

If you want to RDP into the VM instead of using Proxmox console:

  1. Open Settings → System → Remote Desktop

  2. Toggle Remote Desktop to On

  3. Note the PC name or IP address

Now you can connect via RDP from any device on your network.

Install Windows Updates

  1. Open Settings → Windows Update

  2. Click Check for updates

  3. Install all available updates

  4. Reboot as needed

Performance Tweaks

Disable Unnecessary Visual Effects:

  1. Right-click Start → System

  2. Click Advanced system settings

  3. Under Performance, click Settings

  4. Select “Adjust for best performance” or customize

Power Plan:

  1. Open Control Panel → Power Options

  2. Select High performance (may need to show additional plans)

Disable Hibernation (saves disk space):


# Run PowerShell as Administrator

powercfg /hibernate off

:locked: Step 7: Security & Privacy Hardening (Recommended)

Windows 11 comes with a lot of telemetry, bloatware, and privacy-invasive defaults. If you want a clean, private, and optimized installation, consider using Winhance.

What is Winhance?

Winhance is a free, open-source Windows optimization tool that lets you:

  • Disable telemetry and tracking - Stop Microsoft from collecting your data

  • Remove bloatware - Get rid of pre-installed apps you don’t need

  • Disable Cortana, Copilot, and other AI features - Keep Windows minimal

  • Optimize performance - Disable unnecessary services and visual effects

  • Harden security settings - Apply privacy-focused configurations

  • Customize Windows behavior - Control updates, notifications, and more

Why Use It?

Instead of manually editing registry keys, running PowerShell scripts, and hunting through settings, Winhance provides a simple GUI to apply all these changes safely. It’s:

  • Reversible - Changes can be undone

  • Transparent - You can see exactly what each option does

  • Actively maintained - Updated for Windows 11 24H2

How to Use

  1. Download from winhance.net

  2. Run the application (no installation required)

  3. Review and select the optimizations you want

  4. Apply changes and reboot

Tip: Run Winhance immediately after a fresh Windows install for best results.

:brain: TL;DR

  1. Download VirtIO ISO - Required for disk/network drivers

  2. Create VM with:

  • Machine: q35

  • BIOS: OVMF (UEFI) with EFI disk

  • TPM: v2.0 (Windows 11 requirement)

  • Disk: VirtIO SCSI

  • Network: VirtIO

  • CPU Type: host or x86-64-v2-AES

  1. During Windows install - Load VirtIO SCSI driver to see disk

  2. After install - Run virtio-win-gt-x64.msi for all drivers + guest agent

  3. Optimize - Remove ISOs, enable RDP, update Windows

:police_car_light: Troubleshooting

“This PC can’t run Windows 11”

  • TPM not enabled → Edit VM → System → Add TPM v2.0

  • Secure Boot not enabled → EFI disk with Pre-Enroll keys

  • Machine type wrong → Must be q35

No Disk Visible During Install

  • VirtIO driver not loaded

  • Load driver from: virtio-win.iso → vioscsi → w11 → amd64

No Network After Install

  • Install VirtIO network driver

  • Run the full virtio-win-gt-x64.msi installer

VM Won’t Boot After Install

  • Check boot order in VM → Options → Boot Order

  • Make sure the SCSI disk is first, CD/DVD after

  • Remove ISOs if still trying to boot from them

Poor Performance

  • Ensure VirtIO drivers are installed (not default Windows drivers)

  • Check CPU type is host for best performance

  • Enable IO Thread on disk settings

  • Make sure ballooning isn’t starving the VM of memory

Guest Agent Not Showing

  • Install virtio-win-gt-x64.msi (includes QEMU Guest Agent)

  • Check Windows Services → QEMU Guest Agent is running

  • Reboot the VM

:speech_balloon: Your Turn

Got Windows 11 running on Proxmox?

Any issues during installation?

Share your VM specs and use case below!