Installing a Windows virtual machine on Proxmox
What goes smoothly, what trips people up, and the licence question — put plainly.
Starting at from €13.99/mo
Introduction
Proxmox runs Windows without trouble, provided you know two or three things. The first is the VirtIO drivers: without them the installer does not see the virtual disk and the network card stays silent. You mount the VirtIO image as a second drive during installation. That is not a defect, it is the price of paravirtualized devices — markedly faster than emulated ones.
The second is memory. Windows is not a light system: count 4 GB as a bare minimum, 8 GB to work comfortably, more as soon as a business application or a database joins in. The M plan at €20.99/month and its 24 GB leaves room for a serious Windows VM plus a few Linux machines alongside.
The Windows licence remains at your expense, and we would rather write it plainly. By-Hoster neither supplies nor resells Microsoft licences. If what you want is a Windows delivered ready without dealing with virtualization, our Windows VPS answer that need better.
What the server brings, across the whole range
Proxmox VE already installed
The server arrives with <strong>Proxmox VE</strong> in place and its web interface reachable. You create your virtual machines and LXC containers from the browser, without a support ticket or a wait. <strong>Reinstalls are unlimited</strong>: an experiment that goes wrong is redone in minutes.
RAM, because that is what runs out first
On a hypervisor it is almost never the processor that caps out first: it is <strong>memory</strong>, because every virtual machine reserves its own. The range starts at <strong>16 GB</strong> and goes up to <strong>96 GB</strong>, which leaves room to stack several VMs without starving them.
Unlimited snapshots and backups
A snapshot before an update, another before a configuration change: that is what separates a test from a gamble. Neither the count nor the frequency is billed, so nothing discourages taking one more.
Up to 16 additional IPv4 addresses
Each VM can hold its own public address, which avoids routing everything through port forwards on the host. Useful as soon as a virtual firewall, a web server and a third-party service have to coexist cleanly.
Why a VM rather than a Windows VPS
Let Windows and Linux coexist
A Windows VM for the software that demands it, Linux containers for the rest, on the same server and the same invoice.
Snapshots before every update
Windows updates are a classic source of unpleasant surprise. A snapshot taken beforehand turns an incident into a simple rollback.
Test several versions
Server 2019, 2022, 2025 side by side to validate compatibility. Each in its VM, each dismantled without touching the others.
Isolate behind a virtual firewall
A Windows VM with no public address, reachable only through a VPN, sharply reduces its exposed surface.
A remote workstation
A Windows environment reachable over RDP from anywhere, backed up as a VM rather than as a physical computer.
Frequently asked questions
No. By-Hoster installs the hypervisor, not Windows, and neither supplies nor resells Microsoft licences. It stays entirely at your expense, whatever the number of Windows VMs.
Because the VirtIO drivers are missing. Add the driver ISO as a second CD drive in the VM configuration, then load them from the installer when choosing the disk.
4 GB for very light use, 8 GB to work calmly, 16 GB as soon as a business application or a database is added. Windows really does use the memory it is given.
If all you want is a ready-made Windows, yes: it is more direct and cheaper. A VM on Proxmox earns its place when you also want the hypervisor, the snapshots and other machines beside it.