Automation | virtIO Install after OS installation

[pmfna44]

Hi all,

any way to use automation to launch a powershell script to install virtIO Drivers after Windows OS Install?

it seems we can, but the documentation is lacking some examples, and the interface for automation is a little bit confusing on what options to choose to achieve this.

regards

[PSPrakash]

Hello

From Library > Automation , You may add a new Task , Select the Type as PowerShell , Write the script to install the Driver .
While provisioning instance, In the automation selection  , you may select the "Task" you created in above step. 

[pmfna44]

hello,

thanks for your answer.

I'm trying to run the following script, but it fails when using automation, but if I run it on the machine directly on the powershell it runs and installs the virtio drivers.

There are several options to run the ps script one of them (Source) is confusing, i've choose local, but the script fails everytime. Tried to change execute target also, but still fails.

# Requires Administrator privileges

# This script assumes the virtio-win.iso is mounted as a CD/DVD drive in the VM.

# --- Configuration ---

$VirtIOIsoDriveLetter = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_CDROMDrive | Where-Object {$_.VolumeName -like "*virtio-win*"} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Drive

$VirtIOInstallerPath = "$VirtIOIsoDriveLetter\virtio-win-gt-x64.msi" # Adjust if the executable name is different

$LogFile = "C:\Temp\VirtIO_Installation_Log.txt" # Log file for installation output

# Create Temp directory if it doesn't exist

If (-not (Test-Path "C:\Temp")) {

    New-Item -Path "C:\Temp" -ItemType Directory | Out-Null

}

Write-Host "Starting VirtIO driver installation..."

Write-Host "VirtIO ISO found at drive: $($VirtIOIsoDriveLetter)"

# --- Install VirtIO Guest Tools ---

Write-Host "Attempting to install VirtIO Guest Tools..."

try {

    msiexec /i $VirtIOInstallerPath /qn /passive | Out-File $LogFile -Append

    Write-Host "VirtIO Guest Tools installation initiated. Check log file for details: $LogFile"

}

catch {

    Write-Error "Failed to start VirtIO Guest Tools installer. Error: $($_.Exception.Message)"

    Write-Host "Please ensure the path '$VirtIOInstallerPath' is correct and the executable exists on the mounted ISO."

    Exit 1

}

# --- Verify Installation (Optional, but recommended) ---

Write-Host "Verifying VirtIO driver installation..."

Start-Sleep -Seconds 30 # Give some time for drivers to settle

# Check for VirtIO devices in Device Manager

$VirtIODrivers = Get-PnpDevice -Class "System" | Where-Object { $_.FriendlyName -like "*VirtIO*" }

$NetworkVirtIO = Get-PnpDevice -Class "Net" | Where-Object { $_.FriendlyName -like "*VirtIO*" }

$StorageVirtIO = Get-PnpDevice -Class "SCSIAdapter" | Where-Object { $_.FriendlyName -like "*VirtIO*" }

if ($VirtIODrivers.Count -gt 0 -or $NetworkVirtIO.Count -gt 0 -or $StorageVirtIO.Count -gt 0) {

    Write-Host "VirtIO drivers appear to be installed successfully."

    Write-Host "Discovered VirtIO devices:"

    $VirtIODrivers | Select-Object FriendlyName, Status | Format-Table

    $NetworkVirtIO | Select-Object FriendlyName, Status | Format-Table

    $StorageVirtIO | Select-Object FriendlyName, Status | Format-Table

} else {

    Write-Warning "No VirtIO devices found after installation. Manual verification or troubleshooting may be required."

}

Write-Host "Installation script completed."

Write-Host "A system restart may be required for all drivers to take full effect."

[PSPrakash]

Hello 

Hope you had clicked on the check-box which allow to run the script with elevated privileges.

[pmfna44]

hello,

yes I've tried that option with no success when installing the vm

[pmfna44]

@PSPrakash,

can you specify an example with screenshots please?

[MikkelAndreasen]

i would suggest enabling MSI logging to see if something goes wrong during that process
msiexec /i $VirtIOInstallerPath /qn /passive /l*v "c:\temp\virtio.log"

/mikkel

[Arnout_Verbeken]

Interesting approach to get the drivers installed,

But I fear that your script will never be executed on the VM, since the VM has (probably) no network connection yet (since for that you need the drivers).
As thus, I think your script can never be sent to the VM.

A better way would be to have this script run as a "first-run" task after the Windows installation is complete.

The best approach of course would be to install the drivers one time manually and create a new Virtual Image from that VM (that has the drivers installed).

More info here: https://hpevm-docs.morpheusdata.com/en/latest/infrastructure/clusters/clusters.html#image-prep-windows

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