Proxmox — Windows 11 VM Installation
Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and UEFI — all of which Proxmox can emulate. The main friction points are loading VirtIO drivers during setup (without them, the disk is invisible) and a few 24H2-specific quirks.
Pre-requisites
- Proxmox VE 7.x or 8.x
- Windows 11 ISO — download from Microsoft
- VirtIO driver ISO — download from Fedora People
- At least 64 GB free storage, 4 GB RAM to allocate
Upload both ISOs to Proxmox under Datacenter → Storage → ISO Images before starting.
Create the VM
Step 1 — General
Set a VM ID and name. Enable Start at boot if this should auto-start.
Step 2 — OS
- ISO: your Windows 11 ISO
- Guest OS Type: Microsoft Windows
- Version: 11/2022/2025
Step 3 — System
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Machine | q35 |
| BIOS | OVMF (UEFI) |
| Add EFI Disk | checked |
| Pre-Enroll keys | checked |
| TPM Storage | select your storage |
| TPM Version | v2.0 |
| Qemu Agent | checked |
TPM and UEFI are required
Windows 11 enforces TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot at install time. Do not skip these — the installer will refuse to proceed without them.
Step 4 — Disks
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Bus/Device | SCSI |
| SCSI Controller | VirtIO SCSI Single |
| Disk Size | 64 GB minimum, 80–100 GB recommended |
| Cache | Write back |
| Discard | checked |
| IO thread | checked |
| SSD emulation | checked (if your storage is on SSD) |
Step 5 — CPU
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Cores | 2–4 (match your workload) |
| Type | host (single node) or x86-64-v2-AES (cluster with mixed CPUs) |
CPU type and 24H2 updates
Windows 11 24H2 may fail to update with older CPU types. host works best on single-node setups. On a cluster where nodes have different CPU generations, use x86-64-v2-AES or higher to avoid migration issues.
Step 6 — Memory
- Memory: 4096 MB minimum, 8192 MB recommended
- Ballooning: leave enabled
Step 7 — Network
- Bridge: your LAN bridge (e.g.
vmbr0) - Model: VirtIO (paravirtualized)
Step 8 — Confirm
Do not start the VM yet. First, add the VirtIO ISO as a second CD drive.
Add the VirtIO ISO
In the VM's Hardware tab:
- Click Add → CD/DVD Drive
- Select the
virtio-win.iso - Set bus to IDE, device
ide2(or any free slot)
Install Windows 11
1. Start the VM and open the Console. Press any key to boot from the ISO when prompted.
2. Proceed through the installer until the disk selection screen. No disks will appear — this is expected.
3. Click Load driver and load these three drivers from the VirtIO ISO in order:
| Driver | Path on ISO |
|---|---|
| Storage (VirtIO SCSI) | vioscsi\w11\amd64 |
| Network (NetKVM) | NetKVM\w11\amd64 |
| Memory balloon | Balloon\w11\amd64 |
After loading the storage driver, the virtual disk appears. Select it and continue.
4. Complete the Windows installation as normal.
24H2: Skip the Microsoft account requirement
Windows 11 24H2 removed the BYPASSNRO command. Use this instead when the "Let's connect you to a network" screen appears:
Press Shift+F10 to open a command prompt, then run:
This opens the local account creation flow directly.
Post-Install
Install all VirtIO drivers
In the running Windows VM, open the VirtIO CD drive in Explorer and run:
Accept all defaults. This installs any remaining drivers (display, serial, etc.) that weren't loaded during setup. Restart when prompted.
Install the QEMU Guest Agent
Also on the VirtIO CD:
The guest agent enables Proxmox to report IP addresses, trigger graceful shutdowns, and take consistent snapshots.
Clean up
In the VM's Hardware tab:
- Set the Windows ISO drive to No medium
- Set the VirtIO ISO drive to No medium (or remove the drive entirely)
Enable RDP
For day-to-day access, enable RDP instead of using the Proxmox console — see Windows 11 — Enable Remote Desktop.
Common Issues
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No disks shown during setup | VirtIO storage driver not loaded | Load driver from vioscsi\w11\amd64 on the VirtIO ISO |
| VM boots into UEFI shell | EFI boot entry missing | In the UEFI shell: fs0:\EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.EFI |
| "This PC can't run Windows 11" | TPM or Secure Boot not configured | Re-check VM System settings: OVMF, TPM v2.0, Pre-Enroll keys |
| 24H2 update fails with CPU error | CPU type too old | Change CPU type to x86-64-v2-AES or higher in VM options |
| High idle CPU usage | Missing balloon/VirtIO drivers | Run virtio-win-gt-x64.msi post-install |
| Network not working after install | NetKVM driver not loaded | Open Device Manager → update driver from VirtIO ISO |
| BSOD after 24H2 update | QEMU version too old | Update Proxmox: apt update && apt dist-upgrade |