# Get the Most Out of Windows Guest VMs in ProxMox VE

NOTE: This tutorial assumes the Windows VM has already been installed

1. Log into the ProxMox web UI
2. Select a storage from the left navigation pane to download the driver .iso to
3. Select ISO Images in the left sub-navigation pane
4. If running ProxMox 6, download the VirtIO driver iso Download and upload it to the ProxMox ISO image library
5. If on ProxMox 7, click Download from URL and paste the download URL from above > Click Query URL > Click Download
6. Select the target Windows VM in the left navigation pane
7. Shutdown the VM is it is currently running
8. Select Hardware in the left sub-navigation menu
9. Double click Machine > Set Machine to Q35 if it is not already > Click OK
10. Double click the SCSI Controller > Set to VirtIO SCSI if it is not already > Click OK
11. Double click the Hard Disk > Set the Cache to Write back and check the Discard box > Click OK
12. Double click the Network Device > Set the Model to VirtIO (paravirtualized) > Click OK
13. Double click the CD/DVD Drive
14. Select the Use CD/DVD disc image file (iso) option > Select the storage where the VirtIO driver iso was downloaded > Select the virtio .iso file > Click OK
15. Select Options from the left navigation menu
16. Double click the QEMU Guest Agent option
17. Check the Use QEMU Guest Agent box > Click OK
18. Click console in the left sub-navigation menu
19. Click Start at the top right of the window to power on the VM
20. Once Windows has loaded, login
21. Open File Explorer and browse to the CD/DVD drive
22. Run the QEMU guest utilities installer (virtio-win-guest-tools.exe)
23. Complete the installation using the default options
24. Once the installation completes, restart the VM

Source: https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Windows_10_guest_best_practices