Peebee Software Solutions

Right, so you've got yourself an HP EliteDesk mini PC loaded up with 64GB of RAM (if you followed along with my EliteDesk hardware post, you know the one). Now it's time to stop admiring the specs and actually put this little beast to work. We're going to install Proxmox VE and turn it into a proper virtualisation powerhouse for your homelab.

What Is Proxmox VE?

Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE) is a free, open-source Type 1 hypervisor built on top of Debian Linux. "Type 1" means it runs directly on the bare metal — no Windows or Ubuntu sitting underneath it — which means better performance and less overhead.

With Proxmox you get:

• KVM virtualisation — run full virtual machines (Windows, Linux, whatever you want)
• LXC containers — lightweight Linux containers that use a fraction of the resources of a full VM
• Web-based management UI — manage everything from your browser, no need to SSH in for day-to-day stuff
• Snapshots and backups — built-in tools to protect your VMs and containers
• Clustering support — link multiple Proxmox nodes together if you catch the homelab bug and buy more hardware (you will)

It's basically enterprise-grade virtualisation that costs you absolutely nothing. Hard to argue with that.

What You'll Need

Before we crack into it, make sure you've got these ready:

• A USB stick — at least 2GB (the Proxmox ISO is around 1.2GB)
• Another computer to download the ISO and flash it to the USB
• A monitor and keyboard for the initial setup (you can ditch these after installation)
• An ethernet cable — plug the EliteDesk directly into your router or switch. Don't try doing the install over Wi-Fi, it's not worth the headache

Step 1: Download the Proxmox VE ISO

Head over to proxmox.com/en/downloads and grab the latest Proxmox VE ISO Installer. At the time of writing, that's the 8.x series. Download the full ISO, not the torrent (unless you're into that).

Step 2: Flash the ISO to USB

Use balenaEtcher (works on Windows, Mac, and Linux) or Rufus (Windows only) to flash the ISO onto your USB stick. It's dead simple — select the ISO, select the USB drive, click Flash. Done in a couple of minutes.

Step 3: Connect Everything

Plug the USB stick into your EliteDesk. Connect a monitor (DisplayPort or HDMI depending on your model), a keyboard, and your ethernet cable. You don't need a mouse — the Proxmox installer is keyboard-navigable.

Step 4: Boot from USB

Power on the EliteDesk and immediately start tapping F10 to bring up the boot menu. Select your USB stick from the list. If you don't see it, you might need to pop into the BIOS (F10 at startup, then go to boot options) and make sure USB boot is enabled.

Step 5: Run the Installer

The Proxmox boot screen will appear. Choose "Install Proxmox VE (Graphical)" and let it load up. It takes a minute or so.

Step 6: Accept the EULA

Read it if you want (nobody does), then click I agree and move on.

Step 7: Select Target Disk

Choose the disk you want to install Proxmox on — this should be your NVMe SSD. The installer will show you the available drives.

Click Options to choose the filesystem:

• ext4 — the simple, reliable choice. If you've got a single disk, just go with this.
• ZFS — more advanced, supports features like checksumming and compression. Great if you know what you're doing, but overkill for a single-disk setup.

Step 8: Location and Timezone

Set your country (Australia, obviously), timezone, and keyboard layout. Nothing tricky here.

Step 9: Set Root Password

Choose a strong root password and enter an email address. The email is used for system notifications — it doesn't have to be a real email for a homelab, but it's handy if you set up alerting later.

Step 10: Configure Network

This is the important bit. Set a static IP address for your Proxmox host. You don't want this changing every time your router feels like it.

Example configuration:

Hostname:  proxmox.local
IP Address: 192.168.1.100/24
Gateway:    192.168.1.1
DNS Server: 192.168.1.1

Adjust to match your network, obviously. If your router is 192.168.0.1, then your IP might be something like 192.168.0.100.

Step 11: Review and Install

Double-check everything on the summary screen. Make sure the target disk is correct (this will wipe it). Click Install and grab a cuppa — it only takes a few minutes on an NVMe drive.

Step 12: Reboot

When the installer finishes, it'll prompt you to remove the USB stick and reboot. Pull the USB out and let the EliteDesk boot into Proxmox. You'll see a console login screen with the IP address and port for the web UI.

First Login

On another computer on the same network, open your browser and go to:

https://192.168.1.100:8006

Your browser will complain about the SSL certificate — that's normal, Proxmox uses a self-signed cert. Click through the warning (Advanced > Proceed). Log in with username root and the password you set during installation.

Post-Install Setup

Before you start spinning up VMs, there are a few things worth doing first.

Add the No-Subscription Repository

By default, Proxmox is configured to use the enterprise repository, which requires a paid subscription key. You'll want to switch to the no-subscription repo so you can actually get updates. SSH into your Proxmox host (or use the console in the web UI under your node > Shell):

# Disable the enterprise repo
nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
# Comment out the line by adding a # at the start:
# deb https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-enterprise

# Add the no-subscription repo
nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-subscription.list
# Add this line:
deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription

Update Everything

Now run a full update to make sure you're on the latest packages:

apt update && apt full-upgrade -y

Reboot afterwards if the kernel was updated:

reboot

Enable IOMMU (Optional but Recommended)

If you're planning to do PCI passthrough later (like passing a GPU or network card directly to a VM), you'll want to enable IOMMU in the BIOS. Restart the EliteDesk, hit F10 to enter BIOS setup, and look for something like VT-d or IOMMU under the advanced or security settings. Enable it.

You'll also need to add intel_iommu=on to your kernel boot parameters, but that's a topic for another post.

Quick Tour of the Web UI

Once you're logged in, here's what you're looking at:

• Node overview — CPU usage, memory, storage, uptime. Your EliteDesk with 64GB RAM is going to look very healthy here.
• Create VM — spin up full virtual machines running any OS. Upload ISOs to your local storage and install from there.
• Create CT — create LXC containers. These are lightweight and start in seconds. Perfect for running individual services like Docker hosts, Pi-hole, or a reverse proxy.
• Storage — manage your local storage, add NFS shares, or connect to a NAS.
• Backup — schedule automated backups of your VMs and containers. Set it and forget it.

A Note on Proxmox Licensing

Proxmox is free and open-source software. They make their money selling enterprise support subscriptions, which give you access to the stable enterprise repository and direct technical support. For homelab use, the free no-subscription repository is perfectly fine — you'll get the same updates, just through a slightly less tested channel. Millions of homelabbers run it this way without any dramas.

What's Next?

You've now got a fully functional Proxmox server running on your EliteDesk. That 64GB of RAM is sitting there waiting to be carved up into VMs and containers. In upcoming posts, we'll look at setting up your first VM, creating LXC containers, and getting Docker running inside Proxmox. The homelab journey is just getting started.

Useful links:

• Proxmox VE Downloads
• Proxmox VE Documentation Wiki
• Proxmox Community Forum