How to install VirtIO drivers for virtual machine on Proxmox

Here are the easy steps to install the Proxmox drivers for a virtual machine running Windows 10 (or 11).

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Proxmox install VirtIO drivers on Windows

On Proxmox, you have to install the VirtIO drivers to improve the performance of a virtual machine, and in this guide, you will learn the steps to add the virtualization drivers on Windows 11 (or 10).

VirtIO is a set of virtualization drivers designed to provide high-performance I/O (input/output) operations in virtualized environments. These drivers offer the virtualized operating system direct access to the underlying hardware to significantly improve the overall performance of storage and network devices.

If creating a virtual machine, you must install the appropriate drivers, depending on the guest operating system, such as Windows 11, 10, and Linux, which you can download from the Proxmox website.

This guide will teach you how to install the VirtIO drivers on a Windows virtual machine on Proxmox.

Install virtual machine VirtIO drivers on Proxmox

To install Proxmox VirtIO drivers on a Windows 10 (or 11) virtual machine, use these steps:

  1. Open Proxmox (web).

  2. Select the server and choose the “local” item.

  3. Click on ISO Images.

  4. Click the “Download from URL” button on the right side.

    Proxmox ISO Images download from URL

    Quick note: You can find the latest version of the virtualization drivers from this repository. Inside the path with the latest drivers, right-click, and copy the link for the “virtio-win-0.x.xxx.iso” file.

  5. In the “URL” setting, confirm the link to download the VirtIO ISO file.

    Proxmox driver download from URL

  6. Click the Query URL button to generate a file name.

  7. Click the Download button.

  8. Close the “Task viewer” page after the download.

  9. Click on the Windows virtual machine from the left navigation pane.

  10. Select the “CD/DVD Drive” option in the “Hardware” tab and click the Edit button.

    Proxmox edit VM hardware

  11. Choose the “Use CD/DVD disc image file (iso)” option.

  12. In the “Storage” setting, select the storage containing the ISO file.

  13. In the “ISO image” setting, choose the VirtIO ISO file.

    Proxmox mount VirtIO ISO to VM

  14. Click the OK button.

  15. Click the Console button from the top-right.

  16. Open File Explorer on Windows 11 (or 10).

  17. Click on This PC.

  18. Right-click the CD drive with the ISO file and select the Open option.

    File Explorer open Proxmox drivers ISO

  19. Right-click the virtio-win-guest-tools file and select the Open option to begin the drivers’ installation.

    Windows 10 VirtIO guest tools

  20. Click the Install button.

    Windows 10 install Proxmox drivers

  21. Click the Close button.

Once you complete the steps, the VirtIO drivers will install in the guest operating system, and you should see performance improvements on the virtual machine.