If you're still running older versions of Windows Server OS (2003/2008/2012) and are needing an archived copy of the VirtIO drivers for Windows - the download site is fedorapeople[.]org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/archive-virtio/. The fedorapeople[.]org domain is used by the virtio-win project, which is an open-source initiative sponsored by Red Hat and the Fedora Project. This repository hosts the paravirtualized network, storage, and balloon memory drivers necessary for running Windows virtual machines efficiently on KVM/Qemu-based hypervisors including Proxmox VE.
Some older drivers are only available in .vfd (virtual floppy drive) format or as device driver files (.sys, .inf, .cat, .dll, .pdb). For example, the virtio .iso that contains drivers compatible with Windows Server 2008 are in this format, there is no .MSI or .EXE installer.
So, to install these device drivers you have to launch Device Manager via Start > Run > devmgmt[.]msc and navigate to Devices. Expand the list and find devices with yellow exclamation marks - typically ethernet controllers, PCI devices. In the case of the ethernet devices Right-Click the Ethernet Controller and select Update Device Driver Software. Then choose Browse My Computer for the driver software. Point it to the mounted .ISO and browse to NetKVM\wlh\amd64 folder and install the updated device driver. Repeat for other devices (example: Memory Balloon driver is in Balloon\wlh\amd64 which typically shows up as "Unknown PCI device". *note: avoid memory ballooning in production environments.
Once all of the device drivers are updated - reboot the VM. You may also need to go back and clean up "ghost" adapters that are left over from a VMware to Proxmox conversion. Go back into Device Manager > View > Show Hidden Devices and remove/uninstall any devices that are greyed-out in the device list.
If you're migrating Windows OS server VMs from VMware to Proxmox, in many cases the VM will only boot at first if you change the HDD type to SATA. Once it boots, you install the VirtIO drivers and add a small 1Gb Single-SCSI volume and reboot. Once you've rebooted, Windows will detect the SCSI disk and virtual device. Shut down Windows. Remove the test SCSI disk. Change the disks from SATA to Virtio-Single-SCSI by first Detaching the disk, and then reattach by click on Unused Disk, Edit, and then change Bus/Device to SCSI. Navigate to Options, Boot Order, change the boot order to put the SCSI device first, and make sure to check the Enabled box next to the disk. The Windows server VM should boot and use the drive as SCSI rather than SATA - with a nice performance improvement.
Some older drivers are only available in .vfd (virtual floppy drive) format or as device driver files (.sys, .inf, .cat, .dll, .pdb). For example, the virtio .iso that contains drivers compatible with Windows Server 2008 are in this format, there is no .MSI or .EXE installer.
So, to install these device drivers you have to launch Device Manager via Start > Run > devmgmt[.]msc and navigate to Devices. Expand the list and find devices with yellow exclamation marks - typically ethernet controllers, PCI devices. In the case of the ethernet devices Right-Click the Ethernet Controller and select Update Device Driver Software. Then choose Browse My Computer for the driver software. Point it to the mounted .ISO and browse to NetKVM\wlh\amd64 folder and install the updated device driver. Repeat for other devices (example: Memory Balloon driver is in Balloon\wlh\amd64 which typically shows up as "Unknown PCI device". *note: avoid memory ballooning in production environments.
Once all of the device drivers are updated - reboot the VM. You may also need to go back and clean up "ghost" adapters that are left over from a VMware to Proxmox conversion. Go back into Device Manager > View > Show Hidden Devices and remove/uninstall any devices that are greyed-out in the device list.
If you're migrating Windows OS server VMs from VMware to Proxmox, in many cases the VM will only boot at first if you change the HDD type to SATA. Once it boots, you install the VirtIO drivers and add a small 1Gb Single-SCSI volume and reboot. Once you've rebooted, Windows will detect the SCSI disk and virtual device. Shut down Windows. Remove the test SCSI disk. Change the disks from SATA to Virtio-Single-SCSI by first Detaching the disk, and then reattach by click on Unused Disk, Edit, and then change Bus/Device to SCSI. Navigate to Options, Boot Order, change the boot order to put the SCSI device first, and make sure to check the Enabled box next to the disk. The Windows server VM should boot and use the drive as SCSI rather than SATA - with a nice performance improvement.
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