# Lab downloads: Proxmox VE, VirtIO drivers, Rufus, Ventoy

> The utilities this site's Windows lab actually uses — Proxmox VE ISO, VirtIO Windows drivers, USB writers and 7-Zip — with the verification steps before first boot.

## The short list that actually gets used

Nothing here is Microsoft, and none of it is required to read this site. It is the set that shows up in every Windows lab build: a hypervisor, the drivers that make Windows work inside it, and something to write USB media with.

- **[Proxmox VE ISO installer](https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/proxmox-virtual-environment)** (ISO · x64; Channel: Current stable; Licence: AGPLv3; subscription optional). The hypervisor used by this site’s lab. Verify the SHA256 published next to the ISO before booting it.
- **[VirtIO drivers — stable](https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/stable-virtio/)** (ISO · Windows drivers; Channel: Stable virtio-win; Licence: Open source (Red Hat/Fedora)). Required for Windows guests on KVM/PVE: virtio-blk/scsi, netkvm, balloon, serial. Load the storage driver during setup or the disk is invisible.
- **[VirtIO drivers — archive](https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/archive-virtio/)** (ISO archive by version; Channel: Historical builds; Licence: Open source (Red Hat/Fedora)). Pin a driver version for a reproducible lab, or go back when a new virtio-win breaks an old guest.
- **[Rufus](https://rufus.ie/)** (Portable EXE; Channel: Latest stable; Licence: GPLv3). Fast Windows USB writer with a TPM/Secure Boot bypass option — that bypass is a lab convenience, not a supported production configuration.
- **[Ventoy](https://www.ventoy.net/en/download.html)** (USB multiboot; Channel: Latest stable; Licence: GPLv3). Boot many ISOs from one USB by copying files. Handy for Windows/Server/PVE media; keep the stick’s Ventoy version updated.
- **[balenaEtcher](https://etcher.balena.io/)** (Desktop app; Channel: Latest stable; Licence: Apache-2.0). Cross-platform image writer with read-back verification. Slower than Rufus on Windows but harder to get wrong.
- **[7-Zip](https://www.7-zip.org/download.html)** (MSI / EXE; Channel: Latest stable; Licence: LGPL). Extract ISOs, WIM/ESD archives and driver packages without mounting. Useful when you need one file out of a 6 GB image.

## VirtIO is the one people forget

A Windows guest on KVM/Proxmox boots to “Where do you want to install Windows?” with an **empty disk list**, because Setup has no VirtIO storage driver. Two ways out:

1. Attach the `virtio-win.iso` as a second CD-ROM and load the **vioscsi** or **viostor** driver from it during Setup.
2. Pre-inject the driver into `boot.wim` with DISM — more work, better for repeatable templates.

After install, the guest tools installer (in the same ISO) adds the network, balloon and serial drivers. Without `netkvm`, a Windows VM has no working NIC at all.

Pin the driver version if you care about reproducibility: the archive directory keeps every past build, which is also your rollback when a new release breaks an old guest.

## Media writers: pick one

- **Rufus** — fastest on Windows, portable, and offers the TPM/Secure Boot bypass. That bypass makes an unsupported configuration boot; it does not make it supported. Fine for a lab, wrong for anything you document as a production build.
- **Ventoy** — one USB stick, many ISOs, just copy files. Best when you rebuild machines constantly. Keep Ventoy itself updated; its boot chain has had security fixes.
- **balenaEtcher** — cross-platform and verifies the write. Slower, harder to get wrong.

For VMs you need none of them: mount the ISO.

## Proxmox VE

The hypervisor this site's lab runs on. Two operational notes that are not on the download page:

- The ISO is signed/hashed by Proxmox; verify the published SHA-256 before booting.
- The no-subscription repository is fine for a lab but is not a supported enterprise patch path. If you use it, you own the upgrade risk.

## Verify, then boot

```powershell
Get-FileHash .\proxmox-ve_9.2.iso -Algorithm SHA256
Get-FileHash .\virtio-win.iso -Algorithm SHA256
```

Compare against the value the vendor publishes **on the page you downloaded from**. A download that arrived through a “faster mirror” or a chat app is not verified by a hash you found in the same chat.

> **Danger: Boot media is the highest-privilege file you will handle**
>
> An ISO or USB image runs before any antivirus, with full hardware access. A tampered `boot.wim` or a modified hypervisor installer can install a backdoor that survives reinstalls of the guest. Download from the vendor, hash it, and keep the verified copy.

## What this lab uses

For reference, the Windows lab on this site runs Proxmox VE 9.2.2 on a single host, with Windows guests on VirtIO SCSI disks and OVMF firmware. Everything in the [Windows install](https://winbook.fyi/en/windows/install/iso/) and [Server evaluation](https://winbook.fyi/en/server/start/eval-install/) guides assumes that setup.

## Related

- [Windows ISOs](https://winbook.fyi/en/downloads/windows/)
- [Windows Server evaluations](https://winbook.fyi/en/downloads/server/)
- [Lab method: what counts as evidence](https://winbook.fyi/en/lab/method/)

## Sources

- [Proxmox VE downloads](https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/proxmox-virtual-environment)
- [VirtIO drivers for Windows (stable)](https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/stable-virtio/)
- [Rufus](https://rufus.ie/)
- [Ventoy](https://www.ventoy.net/en/download.html)

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Source: https://winbook.fyi/en/downloads/lab/