5.3.14. Install Windows on VPS

Notes:

  • Depending on the version and edition, the installed system requires at least 10–15 GB of disk space.
  • In standard Windows Server distributions, you are prompted to choose an OS edition — with GUI or command-line only — before installation. This guide describes the steps for the GUI edition.
  • Windows 11 is not supported due to incompatibilities with Secure Boot, TPM, and CPU.
  1. Prepare an ISO image of the desired version of Windows (you can download it from the Microsoft site or create it using the official Media Creation Tool).
  2. Upload and mount the image to the server.
  3. Reboot the server and immediately connect to the server via VNC. Important! You must connect quickly so you can press any key and prevent the server from booting in normal mode (not from an image).
  4. Install the operating system as usual. During installation, you will need to install the disk driver; after installation, install any missing drivers and configure the network (see the instructions below for specific operating systems).

When selecting a disk, install the disk driver:

  1. In the disk selection window, click "Load driver".
  2. In the "Load driver" window, click "OK".
  3. In the list of drivers, select "Red Hat VirtIO SCSI pass-through controller (E:\i386\w10\vioscsi.inf)" and click "Next".
  4. Continue with the standard installation.

During the network connection step, click "I don't have internet" and then "Continue with limited setup".

Install missing drivers:

  1. Open the device manager — right-click the "Start" button and select "Device Manager".
  2. Install the network adapter driver:
    1. Right-click the "Ethernet controller" device and select "Update Driver".
    2. Click "Browse my computer for drivers software".
    3. Select the mounted disk with drivers and click "Next".
  3. Follow the same steps for the "Simple Communications PCI Controller" and "PCI Device" devices.

Set up the network:

  1. Open the "Settings → Network & Internet" section and click "Change adapter options".
  2. Right-click the adapter and select "Properties".
  3. Select "IP version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and click "Properties".
  4. Select "Use the following IP address" and "Use the following DNS server addresses" and fill in the fields with the data from the "IP addresses" tab in the "VPS" section, and click "OK".
  5. Check the network connection.

When selecting a disk, install the disk driver:

  1. In the disk selection window, click "Load driver".
  2. In the "Load driver" window, click "OK".
  3. In the list of drivers, select "Red Hat VirtIO SCSI pass-through controller (E:\amd64\2k16\vioscsi.inf)" and click "Next".
  4. Continue with the standard installation.

Install the drivers for the network adapter and other devices:

  1. Open the device manager — right-click the "Start" button and select "Device Manager".
  2. Install the network adapter driver:
    1. Right-click the "Ethernet controller" device and select "Update Driver".
    2. Click "Browse my computer for drivers software".
    3. Select the mounted disk with drivers and click "Next".
  3. Follow the same steps for the "Simple Communications PCI Controller" and "PCI Device" devices.
  4. Change the HID button interrupt driver:
    1. Right-click the "HID Button Interrupt Driver" device and select "Update Driver".
    2. Click "Browse my computer for drivers software".
    3. Click "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer".
    4. Select "Universal Bus" and click "Next".
  5. Reboot server.

Set up the network:

  1. Open the "Settings → Network & Internet" section.
  2. Select "Ethernet" and click "Change adapter options".
  3. Right-click the adapter and select "Properties".
  4. Select "IP version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and click "Properties".
  5. Select "Use the following IP address" and "Use the following DNS server addresses" and fill in the fields with the data from the "IP addresses" tab in the "VPS" section, and click "OK".
  6. Check the network connection.

When selecting a disk, install the disk driver:

  1. In the disk selection window, click "Load driver".
  2. In the "Load driver" window, click "OK".
  3. In the list of drivers, select "Red Hat VirtIO SCSI pass-through controller (E:\amd64\2k19\vioscsi.inf)" and click "Next".
  4. Continue with the standard installation.

Install the drivers for the network adapter and other devices:

  1. Open the device manager — right-click the "Start" button and select "Device Manager".
  2. Install the network adapter driver:
    1. Right-click the "Ethernet controller" device and select "Update Driver".
    2. Click "Browse my computer for drivers software".
    3. Select the mounted disk with drivers and click "Next".
  3. Follow the same steps for the "Simple Communications PCI Controller" and "PCI Device" devices.
  4. Reboot server.

Set up the network:

  1. Open the "Settings → Network & Internet" section.
  2. Select "Ethernet" and click "Change adapter options".
  3. Right-click the adapter and select "Properties".
  4. Select "IP version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and click "Properties".
  5. Select "Use the following IP address" and "Use the following DNS server addresses" and fill in the fields with the data from the "IP addresses" tab in the "VPS" section, and click "OK".
  6. Check the network connection.

When selecting a disk, install the disk driver:

  1. In the disk selection window, click "Load driver".
  2. In the "Load driver" window, click "OK".
  3. In the list of drivers, select "Red Hat VirtIO SCSI pass-through controller (E:\amd64\2k22\vioscsi.inf)" and click "Next".
  4. Continue with the standard installation.

Install the drivers for the network adapter and other devices:

  1. Open the device manager — right-click the "Start" button and select "Device Manager".
  2. Install the network adapter driver:
    1. Right-click the "Ethernet controller" device and select "Update Driver".
    2. Click "Browse my computer for drivers software".
    3. Select the mounted disk with drivers and click "Next".
  3. Follow the same steps for the "Simple Communications PCI Controller" and "PCI Device" devices.

Set up the network:

  1. Open the "Settings → Network & Internet" section and click "Change adapter options".
  2. Right-click the adapter and select "Properties".
  3. Select "IP version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and click "Properties".
  4. Select "Use the following IP address" and "Use the following DNS server addresses" and fill in the fields with the data from the "IP addresses" tab in the "VPS" section, and click "OK".
  5. Check the network connection.
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