Boot VM Windows 11 by default

[Rowald]

Hi All,

I'm 100% new to proxmox and virtual machines in general, I have been trying to figure this out for almost a full day now and i can't seem to find it.

Setup:
NUCC7PJYHN 16gb RAM / 2TB SSD
Installed proxmox and would like to run Home Assistant (HA) and Windows 11. So i created two VMs and installed both of them.

HA seems to work as i can reach it through the local IP address. Windows 11 is working through the console of proxmox, via my other laptop.
So Far so good, now I want the NUC to default start Windows 11 or even better, have me pick what I want to boot on the NUC. Currently its just showing the Debian Linux command prompt with the message "welcome to proxmox etc etc...".

This must be an easy one but i can't seem to find the right answer on the web. When i check the BIOS i don't see the VMs appear there (which i think makes sense because Proxmox hasn't started by that time yet).
The other solution I read was hit escape when you see the proxmox screen to set boot order, however i dont see a proxmox screen it just boots to the cmd.

Would love to hear a solution! Thanks!

 

[leesteken]

In the Proxmox webGUI, you can enable Start at boot under Options for each VM you want to start automatically when the Proxmox node starts.
You cannot interactively select this when Proxmox starts. It is designed to run as a (headless) server and to be managed and used remotely.

 

[Rowald]

So the only way to reach it is by going to the IP adres for Proxmox, select the right VM and open the console?
There is no faster way to just load windows 11 right away?

This kinda ruins my plan i guess, my thought was to attach the NUC to my TV so i can use it as a media player to play movies and such while its also running home assistant. So if i want that i need another kind of device to attach to the tv that can login to the server?

*Edit: what if i get myself a thin client? Would that be able to connect to the proxmox VM?

 

[Dunuin]

If I understand you right you want to use Win11 just as it would be installed bare metal. This is not how Proxmox/virtualization works.
You could achieve something like this, but for that you would need to PCI passthrough the iGPU to that Win11 VM to get the display output of the Win11 VM on the HDMI/display port. Then you would need to USB passthrough some of the USB devices like a keyboard and mouse from the Host into the Win11 VM so you could use those to control Win11.

Without passthrough, the only way to work with you Win11 VM is by using a remote desktop connection.

 

[Rowald]

Remote desktop should be the solution in a combination with a thin client i think.

When I want to remote desktop into the VM what address are you using? Since i dont see any IP assigned to the Windows VM

 

[Dunuin]

You need to enable RDP in your Win11 first. ITs then the IP of your Win11.

 

[Rowald]

That did the trick! Thanks! Will do some testing if this setup is even good for the purpose of a media player!

 

[Dunuin]

You should try PCI Passthrough. RDP (and all other remote desktop softwares) aren't really great for media playback. I bought a GT710 for PCI passthrough to connect my HTPC Win10 VM to my TV. But with a NUC you got no expandability, so your only option for good framerates and no compression artifacts would be to passthrough the iGPU.

 

[Rowald]

sadface, seems like a lot of hassle with maybe halfgood outcome.

Think im just getting another NUC for the mediaplayer idea and setting this one up to be a file/cloudserver and home assistant