How can Proxmox be installed from an ISO image on the hard disk?

k9banger02

Due to some providers not wanting to include the Proxmox VE ISO on their list of approved ISOs, I have had to install Proxmox manually on top of Debian.

I now want to install it now from configuring the ISO in Grub2 and booting from it just like any of the other boot from ISO options.

Any guides for setting the values for linux and initrd?

I have read that the Proxmox ISO is based on Debian and the Debian boot from hard disk method is not like the type used by Ubuntu and Fedora, that you have to extract the actual files and set adjust the linux and initrd values used in Grub2.

Maounique

I would recommend loading a live distro and using the qemu-vnc ram trick, but there are a few caveats with it, such as making sure you know the interface names. It should work in any situation, though. I suppose your machine has enough ram to load the ISO since you are installing proxmox which doesn't make much sense in under 2 GB which is a minimum to run this setup.
Alternatively, if there is a rescue mode, that should work as well instead of a live distro from an iso.
Ah, this needs nested virtualization, some people do not provide that.

azmaveth

Another solution would be to install Debian 11 (bullseye) and use this guide to install Proxmox on top of it: https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_11_Bullseye

Maounique

@azmaveth said:
Another solution would be to install Debian 11 (bullseye) and use this guide to install Proxmox on top of it: https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_11_Bullseye

OP already used that approach and didn't like it.
There are cases for it, yes, but most people prefer a clean install.

k9banger02

@Maounique said:
I would recommend loading a live distro and using the qemu-vnc ram trick, but there are a few caveats with it, such as making sure you know the interface names. It should work in any situation, though. I suppose your machine has enough ram to load the ISO since you are installing proxmox which doesn't make much sense in under 2 GB which is a minimum to run this setup

Can you give me a link to the qemu-vnc trick?

Maounique

There are many tutorials out there, here too.
https://cryptohaz.medium.com/installing-a-custom-operating-system-on-a-server-using-qemu-b1cb76db51d4

SeederKun

or...using netboot with GRUB instead to boot a Proxmox disc over the network
https://netboot.xyz/docs/booting/grub/

k9banger02

@Maounique said:
There are many tutorials out there, here too.
https://cryptohaz.medium.com/installing-a-custom-operating-system-on-a-server-using-qemu-b1cb76db51d4

SystemRescueCD is my rescue cd of choice. I hardly use the rescue facilities in the console. Will qemu-vnc system run under it?

Maounique

Well, if doesn't have the needed binaries, you can always download them.

vsys_host

After installing the Proxmox VE ISO, copy it to a directory on your server. Then, add the following lines to the file /etc/grub.d/40_custom:menuentry "Proxmox VE" {
set isofile="/root/proxmox_iso/proxmox-ve_*.iso"
loopback loop $isofile
linux (loop)/live/vmlinuz boot=live quiet splash
initrd (loop)/live/initrd.img
}
Once you've made the changes, update Grub2 by running the command "sudo update-grub". Finally, restart the server.

somik

@vsys_host said:
After installing the Proxmox VE ISO, copy it to a directory on your server. Then, add the following lines to the file /etc/grub.d/40_custom:menuentry "Proxmox VE" {
set isofile="/root/proxmox_iso/proxmox-ve_*.iso"
loopback loop $isofile
linux (loop)/live/vmlinuz boot=live quiet splash
initrd (loop)/live/initrd.img
}
Once you've made the changes, update Grub2 by running the command "sudo update-grub". Finally, restart the server.

^^This^^

One of the best ways to hack the "Rescue mode" on your VM to modify your existing grub to install ANY bootable linux ISO