Installing Windows 11 24H2 on Proxmox VE

From ISO to fully optimized virtual machine

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So you have got Proxmox running and you need a Windows 11 VM. Maybe it is for testing, remote access to Windows apps, or running software that just will not 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 us get it done.

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Step 1: Prerequisites

Before creating the VM, download two ISOs:

• Windows 11 24H2 ISO - Download from Microsoft
• VirtIO drivers ISO (virtio-win.iso) - Download from Fedora

Upload both ISOs to your Proxmox storage.

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Step 2: Create the Virtual Machine

Click Create VM in the Proxmox web UI (top right) and configure each tab:

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)

Check "Advanced" at the bottom to see all options. Click Next.

OS Tab

Setting	Value
Use CD/DVD disc image file (iso)	Selected
Storage	local (or your ISO storage)
ISO image	Select your Windows 11 ISO
Guest OS Type	Microsoft Windows
Version	11/2022/2025

Check "Add additional drive for VirtIO drivers" and 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	Checked
EFI Storage	Select your VM storage (e.g., local-lvm)
Pre-Enroll keys	Checked (enables Secure Boot)
Add TPM	Checked
TPM Storage	Select your VM storage
TPM Version	v2.0
SCSI Controller	VirtIO SCSI single
Qemu Agent	Checked

Click Next.

Disks Tab

Setting	Value
Bus/Device	SCSI (default with VirtIO SCSI controller)
Storage	Select your VM storage
Disk size (GiB)	128 (minimum 64, recommended 128+)
Cache	Write back (best performance)
Discard	Checked (if using SSD/thin provisioning)
IO Thread	Checked (improves I/O performance)

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 cannot 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.

Click Next.

Memory Tab

Setting	Value
Memory (MiB)	8192 (8GB recommended minimum)
Ballooning Device	Checked (optional, allows dynamic memory)

Memory recommendations: Light use (web, Office): 4GB. General use: 8GB. Heavy use (development): 16GB+.

Click Next.

Network Tab

Setting	Value
Bridge	vmbr0 (or your network bridge)
Model	VirtIO (paravirtualized)

VirtIO network gives best performance but requires the VirtIO drivers we will install. Click Next.

Confirm Tab

Review all settings. Optionally check "Start after created". Click Finish.

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Step 3: Install Windows 11

Boot and Start Installation

1. Select your Windows VM and click Start
2. Click Console to open noVNC
3. Press a key when you see "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD"
4. Select language, time format, and keyboard
5. Click Install now
6. Enter your product key or click "I don't have a product key"
7. Choose Windows 11 Pro (recommended)
8. Accept license terms
9. Click "Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)"

Load VirtIO Storage Driver

You will see "Where do you want to install Windows?" with no drives listed. This is expected.

1. Click "Load driver"
2. Click "Browse"
3. Navigate to the VirtIO CD drive (usually D: or E:)
4. Browse to: vioscsi > w11 > amd64
5. Click OK
6. Select "Red Hat VirtIO SCSI controller"
7. Click Next

Your virtual disk should now appear. Select it and click Next. Windows will install (10-20 minutes) and reboot automatically.

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Step 4: Windows Out of Box Experience (OOBE)

Region and Keyboard

Select your country/region and keyboard layout. Skip second keyboard layout unless needed.

Network Setup

Since we have not installed the VirtIO network driver yet, Windows will not detect any network adapters. This actually helps us skip the Microsoft account requirement.

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 will 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
• Set security questions

Privacy Settings

Disable everything you do not need (Location, Find my device, Diagnostic data, etc.). Windows 11 is aggressive with telemetry. For a deeper lockdown, see Securing Windows 11 for Privacy.

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Step 5: Install VirtIO Drivers and Guest Agent

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

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the VirtIO CD drive
2. Run virtio-win-gt-x64.msi - VirtIO drivers (Next through wizard, choose Complete)
3. Run virtio-win-guest-tools.exe - Guest tools and agent
4. Reboot Windows

These installers provide: VirtIO Balloon driver (memory management), VirtIO Serial driver (communication), VirtIO Network driver, QEMU Guest Agent, and SPICE agent.

Verify Guest Agent

After reboot, in Proxmox web UI: select your VM, check the Summary tab. You should see the VM's IP address and Guest Agent status as connected.

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Step 6: Post-Installation Optimization

Remove VirtIO ISO from VM

1. In Proxmox, select your Windows VM > Hardware tab
2. Select the CD/DVD drive with virtio-win.iso
3. Click Edit > Do not use any media
4. Optionally remove the Windows ISO drive too

Enable Remote Desktop (Optional)

1. Open Settings > System > Remote Desktop
2. Toggle Remote Desktop to On
3. Connect via RDP from any device on your network

Install Windows Updates

1. Open Settings > Windows Update
2. Click Check for updates and install all available
3. Reboot as needed

Performance Tweaks

Disable Unnecessary Visual Effects: Right-click Start > System > Advanced system settings > Performance Settings > "Adjust for best performance"

Power Plan: Control Panel > Power Options > High performance

Disable Hibernation (saves disk space):

# Run PowerShell as Administrator
powercfg /hibernate off

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Step 7: Security and Privacy Hardening (Recommended)

Windows 11 comes with a lot of telemetry, bloatware, and privacy-invasive defaults. For a clean, private, and optimized installation, consider using Winhance, a free, open-source Windows optimization tool that lets you:

• Disable telemetry and tracking
• Remove bloatware
• Disable Cortana, Copilot, and other AI features
• Optimize performance
• Harden security settings

Changes are reversible and transparent. Download from winhance.net, run it (no installation required), and apply changes. Best results come from running it immediately after a fresh install.

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TL;DR

1. Download VirtIO ISO - Required for disk/network drivers
2. Create VM with: Machine q35, BIOS OVMF (UEFI), TPM v2.0, Disk VirtIO SCSI, Network VirtIO, CPU Type host
3. During Windows install - Load VirtIO SCSI driver to see disk
4. After install - Run virtio-win-gt-x64.msi for all drivers + guest agent
5. Optimize - Remove ISOs, enable RDP, update Windows

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
"This PC can't run Windows 11"	Enable TPM v2.0 and Secure Boot (EFI with Pre-Enroll keys)
No disk visible during install	Load VirtIO driver from vioscsi/w11/amd64
No network after install	Run virtio-win-gt-x64.msi installer
VM will not boot after install	Check boot order: SCSI disk first, CD/DVD after
Poor performance	Ensure VirtIO drivers installed, CPU type host, IO Thread enabled
Guest Agent not showing	Install virtio-win-gt-x64.msi, check QEMU Guest Agent service