# Windows Server 2025 Evaluation on PVE: install it without a licensing mess

> Install the 180-day Windows Server 2025 Evaluation on Proxmox VE with q35/OVMF, VirtIO drivers and a clean snapshot — no rearm scripts, no mirror ISOs.

**Tested on**

- Build: 26100.33650
- Edition: Standard / Datacenter (Evaluation)
- Architecture: x64
- Evidence: E1
- Verified: 2026-10-28

## The short answer

Use the **official 180-day Evaluation** from Microsoft Evaluation Center, install it on PVE with **q35/OVMF**, VirtIO disk/network and the VirtIO driver ISO. Snapshot the clean state, then clone per role.

Do not use “rearm” scripts, KMS emulators or ISO mirrors. A homelab is not a licence exemption; the evaluation is the legal, rebuildable path.

## Before you start

| Item | Lab-sane value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ISO | Server 2025 Evaluation, x64 | Official, 180 days |
| VM machine | q35 | Modern PCIe layout |
| Firmware | OVMF (UEFI) | Secure Boot capable |
| vCPU/RAM | 4 vCPU / 8GB | GUI + roles; 4GB works for Core |
| Disk | 80–120GB VirtIO | Roles, updates, logs |
| Network | VirtIO | Needs driver ISO |
| Driver ISO | virtio-win | Storage/NIC/balloon |
| Snapshot | `srv2025-clean` | Rebuild point |

Server 2025 does **not** require TPM 2.0/Secure Boot the way Windows 11 does, but UEFI + Secure Boot is still the better lab baseline.

## Install

1. Create the VM (q35, OVMF, 4 vCPU, 8GB, disk, VirtIO NIC).
2. Attach the Server ISO and the VirtIO ISO as two CD-ROMs.
3. Boot the Server ISO; choose **Standard/Datacenter** and **Desktop Experience** or **Core**.
   - Desktop Experience: easier for a first lab, more RAM/patches.
   - Core: smaller attack surface, manage with `sconfig`/WinRM.
4. If Setup cannot see the disk, load the VirtIO SCSI driver.
5. Install, set the Administrator password, reboot.
6. Install VirtIO NIC/balloon drivers, then the QEMU Guest Agent.
7. Run Windows Update, reboot, shut down cleanly.
8. Snapshot `srv2025-clean`.

## First boot checks

```powershell
winver
Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion, OsBuildNumber
Get-PnpDevice -Status Error
Get-Service QEMU-GA
```

Core-only systems: run `sconfig` to set computer name, IP, updates, remote management. Desktop Experience: Server Manager → Local Server.

> **Caution: Evaluation expiry is real**
>
> The evaluation is 180 days. Record the install date and expiry in your lab notes. When it expires, rebuild from the clean snapshot/template; do not hunt for a “rearm” trick.

## Network and identity

- Give the server a **static IP** before promoting it to a domain controller.
- Set DNS to itself only when it is the DNS server; otherwise use the upstream resolver.
- Set the correct time zone and time source; Kerberos is sensitive to clock skew.
- Rename the computer before installing roles, then reboot.

## Snapshot and template policy

- Snapshot **after** updates and before any role.
- Clone per role (`ad1`, `fs1`) instead of mutating one VM.
- Keep a separate backup of the evaluation ISO/config; snapshots are not backups.
- Do not snapshot a running domain controller with an active database and call it consistent.

## What this page does not do

- No activation/licence purchase advice beyond “use Evaluation”.
- No performance claim; a PVE VM is not a physical server benchmark.
- No production domain design; the next page is a lab first domain.

## Sources

- [Microsoft Evaluation Center — Windows Server 2025](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/download-windows-server-2025)
- [Microsoft Learn — Windows Server installation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/install-windows-server)
- [Proxmox VE — Windows VirtIO drivers](https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Windows_VirtIO_Drivers)

---

Source: https://windows.homes/en/server/start/eval-install/