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Discover how to customize Windows installations with tailored ISOs and get full control over setup and drivers → Learn more
10 November 20265 min read1 Views0 helpful
Introduction
Installing your own ISO gives you full control over setting up Windows environments such as Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016/2019/2022/2025. Unlike our preconfigured standard OS images, you can use installation media tailored to your exact needs—for example, with specific drivers, predefined configurations, or additional software packages.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
This isn't an error—Windows can't recognize the virtual drives without additional drivers. Load the VirtIO drivers first to make the drives appear.
Temporarily switch the installation media to virtio-win.iso, select it from the available ISOs, and click 'Mount'. The drivers will then be available during setup.
They're specifically optimized for KVM-based hypervisors and help Windows VMs run with maximum performance and compatibility.
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Preparation
To install and configure an operating system, you first need to mount the appropriate OS ISO. If you don't know how to mount an ISO yet, take a look at our Custom ISO guide.
Installation
At the start of the Windows installation, you'll be guided through the initial setup steps. First, select your preferred language, then the keyboard layout, and finally the installation method. This guide uses the Previous setup version option for illustration. In the next step, select the edition—in this example, Windows Server 2025 Datacenter Desktop Experience, which provides the full graphical user interface.
At this point in the installation, you'll see that no partitions are displayed. This isn't an error; Windows can't recognize the virtual drives without additional drivers. The necessary VirtIO drivers are required for the drives to be detected and accessed correctly. You now need to load and install these drivers. The drives will then appear, and you can continue with partitioning and installing the operating system.
VirtIO drivers
You need to set up the VirtIO drivers before installing the operating system. These Windows drivers are specifically optimized for KVM-based hypervisors and help Windows VMs run with maximum performance and compatibility.
To do this, temporarily switch the installation media to virtio-win.iso. Select the VirtIO ISO from the available ISOs and click Mount. This makes the drivers available during setup so you can install them before continuing with the OS installation.
Warning
DO NOT RESTART THE SERVER
When you temporarily switch the ISO to the VirtIO ISO, do not restart the server. Simply selecting the ISO is enough. Restarting would erase your progress.
The required drivers are organized into three folders: Balloon, NetKVM, and vioscsi. Each folder contains a specific driver that's essential for running a Windows VM on a KVM hypervisor.
Balloon: This driver dynamically manages memory allocation, allowing the VM's assigned RAM to be increased or decreased without a restart.
NetKVM: This driver provides a fully functional, optimized network interface that ensures stable, high-performance network connections for the VM.
Vioscsi: A specialized SCSI controller driver that ensures virtual drives are detected correctly and accessed quickly. It improves I/O performance and helps Windows recognize virtual drives correctly.
Each of these folders contains a subfolder for a specific system architecture. During installation, select the subfolder that matches the operating system you want to install. Always use the amd64 architecture. Repeat the process for all three driver folders, as shown in the screenshot.
Once the VirtIO drivers have been installed successfully, you can continue with the operating system installation. As before, you'll need to change the ISO image. This time, select the original operating system installation ISO, then reopen the Console tab to continue the installation.
Create and select a partition
In the next step, configure the partitions. First, delete any remaining unknown partitions. Then select the newly available unallocated partitions as the destination for the operating system installation.
Next, click Next to continue. The rest of the installation will run automatically. At the end, you'll be prompted to set the login details for the administrator account.
Configuration
After successfully installing the operating system, you need to complete a few final configuration steps to use the system securely and reliably. These include enabling and managing access via Remote Desktop (RDP), setting up firewall rules for security and functionality, and configuring the network to connect the server to your network correctly.
These adjustments ensure that remote access works, monitoring and status checks run smoothly, and the server operates with stable, predictable network settings in your infrastructure.
RDP configuration
The process for enabling Remote Desktop (RDP) is similar in Windows 10 (client systems) and Windows Server 2016/2019/2022/2025. Open Control Panel or Settings, navigate to System → Remote Desktop (on client editions) or System Properties → Remote (on server editions), and enable the Allow remote connections to this computer option. On server versions, the option is called Enable Remote Desktop.
Firewall configuration
For the server to be fully initialized and pass status checks such as ping tests, you need to allow the ICMP protocol in the Windows Firewall. Without this rule, monitoring tools and network tests can't reach the server, resulting in failed health checks.
To enable ICMP, open Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security and go to the inbound rules section. Create a new custom rule, set the protocol to “Any,” and select ICMPv4. Configure the rule to apply to all ports, and select the profiles (Domain, Private, Public) for which the rule should be active. In most cases, we recommend enabling all profiles. Finally, give the rule a descriptive name, such as Allow inbound ICMP, and complete the wizard.
From this point on, the server will accept ICMP requests, allowing commands such as ping and monitoring systems to reach the server and successfully check its status.
Network configuration
To configure network settings manually in Windows, first open Network and Sharing Center through Control Panel or the taskbar. Select the appropriate network adapter (LAN or Wi-Fi), right-click it, and open Properties. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) from the list and click Properties.
In the dialog box, change the setting from “Obtain an IP address automatically” to “Use the following IP address.” You can now enter the server's IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway. Below that, switch the DNS settings to manual and enter 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8 as the primary and secondary DNS servers. Click OK to apply the static network configuration.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you've successfully installed and configured your Windows operating system. If you have any further questions or need help, our support team is available every day! 🙂
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