# VM Setup

When setting up a Windows VM, whether it's a standard Windows 10/11 or Windows Server, you have to take a few extra steps, to enable the best possible performance for your VM.

##### 1. Setup Steps

Follow the steps below, when creating the VM:

<table border="1" id="bkmrk-in-the-first-step%2C-s" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 1043px;"><colgroup><col style="width: 50%;"></col><col style="width: 50%;"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 314px;"><td style="height: 314px;">[![Bildschirmfoto 2024-03-14 um 09.35.26.png](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/scaled-1680-/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-35-26.png)](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-35-26.png)</td><td style="height: 314px;">In the first step, simply give your VM a name and click `Next`</td></tr><tr style="height: 314px;"><td style="height: 314px;">[![Bildschirmfoto 2024-03-14 um 09.35.55.png](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/scaled-1680-/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-35-55.png)](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-35-55.png)</td><td style="height: 314px;">Next, select your Windows ISO and click `Next`.

Also Since we are using VirtIO devices, we will need a driver CD, for Windows to load all necessary drivers later. Simply download the ISO [here](https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/stable-virtio/virtio-win.iso). In Proxmox under `Hardware` click on `Add``CD/DVD Drive` and select the downloaded VirtIO ISO.

</td></tr><tr style="height: 77px;"><td style="height: 77px;">[![Bildschirmfoto 2024-03-14 um 09.36.08.png](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/scaled-1680-/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-36-08.png)](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-36-08.png)</td><td style="height: 77px;">After that, make sure to enable `Qemu Agent`. You can leave the other settings in their default settings, or change the Graphics Card and storage controller according to your hardware setup</td></tr><tr style="height: 93px;"><td style="height: 93px;">[![Bildschirmfoto 2024-03-14 um 09.37.04.png](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/scaled-1680-/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-37-04.png)](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-37-04.png)</td><td style="height: 93px;">Create a new SCSI drive (check the windows requirements for your version for the minimum required storage size) and select `Write back` as Cache, aswell as `Discard` to improve performance. If your storage consists of SSDs, you can enable `SSD emulation`.</td></tr><tr style="height: 61px;"><td style="height: 61px;">[![Bildschirmfoto 2024-03-14 um 09.37.39.png](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/scaled-1680-/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-37-39.png)](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-37-39.png)</td><td style="height: 61px;">For your CPU, select the amount of cores you need and change the Type to `Host`, to significantly boost performance. I'd also recommend enabling `NUMA`</td></tr><tr style="height: 29px;"><td style="height: 29px;">[![Bildschirmfoto 2024-03-14 um 09.38.02.png](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/scaled-1680-/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-38-02.png)](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-38-02.png)</td><td style="height: 29px;">Choose the amount of RAM, you need</td></tr><tr style="height: 52px;"><td style="height: 52px;">[![Bildschirmfoto 2024-03-14 um 09.38.19.png](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/scaled-1680-/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-38-19.png)](https://bookstack.j551n.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-03/bildschirmfoto-2024-03-14-um-09-38-19.png)</td><td style="height: 52px;">Change the network settings according to your Proxmox settings, and select `VirtIO` as Model

</td></tr><tr style="height: 93px;"><td style="height: 93px;">  
</td><td style="height: 93px;">Finish the initial Setup</td></tr></tbody></table>