No NIC in Windows Recovery

[uiprox]

Hi all,
I'm trying to restore a windows 10 computer to a Proxmox vm. I used the windows image backup and saved the image to a share on the network. I've created the vm in Proxmox, boot to the Windows repair portion of the install iso, and have tried to reach the backup image through the repair. I cant reach the share, so I tried ipconfig on the command prompt and it appears I don't have a NIC installed for the vm when running the recovery/ repair.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Matthias.]

Please share your VM config (qm config <VMID>).
Do you actually have a VirtIO network device connected to the VM? https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Windows_VirtIO_Drivers
Did you install the network drivers? https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Windows_10_guest_best_practices

Edit: for me, windows recognises the network device when I change it in the proxmox GUI from VirtIO to E1000, no drivers needed.

 

[uiprox]

Here you go.

agent: 1
bios: ovmf
boot: order=scsi0;ide2;net0;ide0
cores: 2
efidisk0: synology:100/vm-100-disk-0.qcow2,efitype=4m,pre-enrolled-keys=1,size=528K
ide0: synology:iso/virtio-win-0.1.221.iso,media=cdrom,size=519030K
ide2: synology:iso/Windows_10.iso,media=cdrom,size=4492992K
machine: pc-q35-6.2
memory: 4096
meta: creation-qemu=6.2.0,ctime=1664490337
net0: e1000=5E:4BD:3916,bridge=vmbr0,firewall=1
numa: 0
ostype: win11
scsi0: synology:100/vm-100-disk-1.qcow2,cache=writeback,discard=on,size=110G
scsihw: virtio-scsi-pci
smbios1: uuid=d43b0f47-9d1b-4248-a5a8-87d9a6986bb1
sockets: 1
tpmstate0: synology:100/vm-100-disk-0.raw,size=4M,version=v2.0
vmgenid: 639f70cc-0c7b-4360-ae89-0d3fbf0049a7

I do have a network device connected to the vm, also E1000. I use the E1000 for the same reason mentioned - no drivers needed.

I don't have an option to install drivers in the process until after I have selected the Windows Backup Image (If I remember correctly).

Thank you for your help.

Edit: I went back and tried the process again. There is an opportunity to install drivers before selecting the recovery image. I installed the drivers located in the NetKVM folder on the virtio-win iso, but they did not work.

 

[Matthias.]

Edit: for me, windows recognises the network device when I change it in the proxmox GUI from VirtIO to E1000, no drivers needed.

DId you try that? That is, start windows, go into the recovery mode, and *then* change the network device.

 

[uiprox]

I have tried changing the nic type in the Proxmox interface for the vm. I've tried every one, with no luck.

 

[datschlatscher]

My Windows knowledge is a bit hazy, but this should do the trick for setting up a network connection:

I don't have an option to install drivers in the process until after I have selected the Windows Backup Image (If I remember correctly).

You can install the drivers and setup your network in the installation Troubleshooting screen, you have to do it manually though.

I have tried changing the nic type in the Proxmox interface for the vm. I've tried every one, with no luck.

As far as I have tested, it is not necessary to change this configuration in the hardware panel, as long as the driver in the Windows VM is set up correctly.

Note: For some reason, installing the drivers with the pnputil did not work, I had to do it through the "System Image Recovery" GUI panel as described below.

1. Go to Toubleshoot > System Image Recovery > Select "Next" > Select "Advanced" > "Install a driver" > Click "OK"
2. Navigate to your virtio ISO image (Should be under) "This PC" > "CD Drive ( D: )" > "NetKVM" > "w10" > "amd64" > "netkvm.inf" (The one with the cog icon - probably displayed without .inf extension) > "Open" > Press "Add Drivers..."
3. Now go back to the troubleshooting menu > Open "Command prompt"
4. Display your interface name via netsh interface show interface
5. Type in wpeinit
6. Now configure a static IP address in your network via the command netsh interface ip set address "<Interface Name>" static <IP address> <Subnet mask> <Gateway IP>. Of course, replace the values in < > brackets with your chosen configuration.
7. Your network should work now

If this doesn't work, feel free to give an update here. Furthermore, as a fallback, you can also try to recover the image via a hard disk drive that you physically plug into your computer, if that is an option.

Best of luck!

 

[uiprox]

Thanks datschlatscher,
Was able to get pretty far with your instructions, but when I try to set the ip I get a interface unknown message. I tried netsh interface ip set address "Network #1" source=dhcp and that at first seemed to work but when I checked ipconfig it had a 168.x.x.x address.

 

[uiprox]

Hi all,
I installed virtio nic and drivers. That gives me a nic but am unable to set static or get dhcp ip address.

 

[datschlatscher]

but when I try to set the ip I get a interface unknown message

I had the same problem, until I ran wpeinit before that[0].

What is shown when you type in netsh interface show interface?
Do you get any other errors which might be of interest?


[0] See first answer in: https://superuser.com/questions/812...recovery-netsh-error-the-interface-is-unknown

 

[uiprox]

This is what shows.

No other errors.

Using the E1000 would always work without issue or the need to install drivers. Curious to whats changed. I don't believe I'm doing anything different.

 

[datschlatscher]

netsh interface ip set address "Network #1" source=dhcp

You say that you are using Network #1 as your interface name, how come? Can you try to use the command (and the one for the static IP) with Ethernet Instance 0 as your interface name?

 

[uiprox]

I did run the command using Ethernet Instance 0. "Network #1" is in reference to what ever interface is recognized and is listed regardless of the name.

 

[datschlatscher]

I am unfortunately at my wits end here. The only thing I would suggest when doing the above is to try changing the Model setting in the Network device (I just realized I have been using E1000 and not the default setting on the VM I got it working with), if you haven't already.

Other than that, have you tried to simply restore the image from a hard disk drive? At this point, that might be easier but should yield the same result.

 

[uiprox]

I have tried E1000 and have always used that option and it has always just worked. I agree, at this point a restore using a hard disk drive may be easier. Still curious to what could possibly be causing this issue. Thank you for your help. I appreciate your time.