How to Install Windows Server on Proxmox with VirtIO Drivers

If you want to install Windows Server on Proxmox, I recommend using VirtIO drivers from the beginning. This gives your virtual machine better storage and network performance than using older default options.

In this guide, I show how I create a Windows Server virtual machine in Proxmox VE, attach the VirtIO ISO, and load the storage driver during the Windows installer. I also explain one practical detail from my own testing. For me, Windows setup was smoother when I loaded only the VirtIO storage driver during setup and installed the network driver later inside Windows.

The process works well for Windows Server 2025 and Windows Server 2022. So even if your environment isn’t ready for the latest Microsoft release yet, you can still follow the same general steps.

What you need before you start

Before I begin, I make sure these three things are ready:

• a Windows Server ISO
• a VirtIO ISO (Download page)
• a working Proxmox VE 8 host installation

I need both ISO files during the installation, because the Windows installer does not include the VirtIO storage driver by default. If you have not yet uploaded the ISO files to Proxmox, I recommend doing that first so the setup goes smoothly.

Official document from Proxmox Windows 2025 guest best practices.

Create the Windows Server virtual machine in Proxmox

I recorded the full VM creation process in the video below. If you want to follow the exact settings I used, watch the video first, then use the screenshots and written steps below as a reference.

I start by creating a new virtual machine in Proxmox VE and selecting the Windows Server ISO in the OS tab. In the same step, I also mount the VirtIO ISO as an additional driver CD. This is important because the Windows installer does not include the VirtIO storage driver by default.

For the guest OS, I select Microsoft Windows and then choose the matching version. In my example, I use Windows Server 2025, but the same setup also works for Windows Server 2022.

In the System tab, I use q35 as the machine type and OVMF (UEFI) as the firmware. I also keep the EFI disk enabled and add a TPM. For the SCSI controller, I use VirtIO SCSI single. This is the setup I prefer for a modern Windows Server virtual machine on Proxmox.

For the disk configuration, I choose a SCSI disk and keep the VirtIO SCSI single controller. I also enable Discard and IO thread. For my test VM, I assigned 200 GB of disk space, which is more than enough for Windows Server, updates, and some lab testing, but you can always increase the VM disk size later in Proxmox if your storage needs grow.

In the Network tab, I select VirtIO (paravirtualized) as the network model. That gives better performance than older emulated adapters, but it also means Windows needs the matching driver software later.

At this point, the base server configuration is ready and I can finish the VM creation process and boot the Windows installer.

Boot the Windows installer and complete the VirtIO driver setup

In the video below, I show the Windows installer steps on the virtual machine. The key part here is loading the VirtIO storage driver from the mounted driver CD, because otherwise Windows Server will not detect the disk.

Once the driver is loaded, the disk space becomes visible and I can continue the installation. After the first boot into Windows, I also install the VirtIO network driver and the QEMU guest agent so the virtual machine is fully ready to use in Proxmox VE.

Install the VirtIO network driver and QEMU guest agent in Windows

After the first boot, Windows Server is installed, but the virtual machine is not fully ready yet. I use the mounted VirtIO ISO to install the remaining drivers directly inside Windows.

For the network driver, I do not go through Device Manager in this setup. I install it directly from the ISO, which is quicker and simpler. Once that is done, the virtual machine gets network access and I can continue with the rest of the server configuration.

During VM creation, I ensured the QEMU agent was enabled in the system tab. Now, it’s important to install the QEMU Guest Agent inside Windows. This helps your Windows server work better with Proxmox by allowing smoother communication, cleaner shutdowns, and more accurate status updates in the Proxmox interface.

Open Device Manager to check for any missing drivers after installation.

At this point, the Windows Server virtual machine is ready for updates and the next configuration steps.

Why I recommend installing Windows Server on Proxmox with VirtIO from the start

One point that can confuse Proxmox beginners is that the Windows installer does not recognize the disk right away when using VirtIO SCSI single. At that moment, it is tempting to switch the controller to SATA just to make the installation easier.

The problem is that this is not the setup I would recommend if you want a clean Windows Server virtual machine with good performance. Changing the storage controller later is possible, but it is not as simple as doing it correctly from the beginning.

That is why I prefer this approach. I create the virtual machine with VirtIO SCSI single from the start, mount the VirtIO ISO, and load the storage driver during Windows setup. This keeps the server configuration clean and gives the virtual machine the performance benefits of VirtIO without extra rework later, which is especially useful if you plan to migrate virtual machines from VMware to Proxmox with the import wizard in the future.

For me, this is the best process for installing Windows Server on Proxmox, especially if you want to do it once and do it right.