Step-by-Step Guide: Installing and Configuring Proxmox on a Mini PC

In this video I go through the process of installing and configuring Proxmox on my Beelink Mini S12 Pro. In addition, I add an Sata Drive, create an LXC Containers, install Pi-Hole and setup scheduled backups. Follow along as I go through this process!
Beelink Mini S12 Pro - amzn.to/3ut2uPO
Beelink products - amzn.to/48eODdR
Kingston M.2 NVMe Drive - amzn.to/3UR9hNU
Kingston SATA SSD - amzn.to/4bLxbQP
⏱️TIMESTAMP⏱️
00:00 Step-by-Step Guide: Installing and Configuring Proxmox on a Mini PC
00:09 Beelink Mini S12 Pro Introduction
01:45 Replacing the M.2 NVMe Drive
02:57 Adding a 2.5 Inch SATA drive
04:19 Creation of the Proxmox bootable USB Drive
05:38 Performing the Proxmox installation
09:15 Updating Proxmox
11:27 Creating LXC Containers.
15:25 Installing Pi-Hole onto an LXC Container.
20:23 Uploading and Downloading from URL of ISO Images
22:46 Creating a Virtual Machine.
25:38 Setting up scheduled backups.
Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something I'll receive a small commission for the channel!

[@freedomridge695]

This was an amazing video. I am very thankful that you went step by step and explained what you were doing. Some folks skip over steps that the deem too "basic", but I was able to follow along and understand nearly everything. Thank you!

[@BIsForBudget]

You're very welcome. I'm glad you found the video helpful. Thanks for the feedback!

[@Working_LAN]

Good video 👍

[@BIsForBudget]

You're very welcome.

[@zenith54]

Great video, thanks for making it :)

[@BIsForBudget]

Thanks! It was fun making it.

[@salamoureux]

I didn't even realize it came with an empty SATA slot, lol. That along with that fact that I can upgrade to a 32gb DDR4 stick make this lil guy pretty impressive for $160.

[@BIsForBudget]

Absolutely. These mini PCs are really making me rethink future solutions/projects I have.

[@SRG-Learn-Code]

I'm on a rabbit hole of microserver on-premise for small businesses. I'm wondering, is proxmox in this setup not web safe? I would like to not only expose a webserver locally, but to have also a webserver exposed to the internet with ddns. Might be even possible to expose the proxmox dashboard for remote support? Man, do I love all of this. Proxmox seems like a game changer and I'm wondering if terraform and all that might be totally unnecesary.

[@SRG-Learn-Code]

So, I just ordered a AM06 5500u and went to watch some tuts about proxmox and cool things that I want to try, and look at that! I already was here! The minipc I've choosen has 6c12t 16gb of ram and dual rj45, 1gb and 1 2.5gb. Time to build something awesome!

[@MarcelDarvas]

Thank you for this video about the hardware installation. I did the same thing. Two questions: 1. Some forums suggest that Proxmox Host OS is enough to be installed on a slower drive like the 2.5" SSD and then use the NVME for the VMs. How are you using the partitions? 2. With the NVME that came with the preinstalled Windows, is there a way to extract it and use it, or is that just in case you are decommissioning this Proxmox host?

[@BIsForBudget]

Hi Marcel. I don't see a problem running the Proxmox OS on SSD. That should be plenty fast. Heck, my first proxmox install years ago was on spinning disk. lol. Nothing fancy, I just presented the disk to Proxmox and let it do the partitioning. I was fortunate enough to have and extra nvme drive. Although I haven't done it on this mini PC, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to create an image of Windows instance on the nvme drive. Clonezilla and Macrium Reflect have worked for my device --> image needs. Hope this helps.

[@xxxhellrazorxxx1]

​@@BIsForBudgethi friend, after 99% i see error "bootloader setup errors: failed to prepare EFI boot using Grub on '/dev/nvme0n1p2" unable to install the EFI boot loader on /dev/nvme0n1"" I tried to install it on nvme, which was included in the kit, and on sata ssd 2.5", the result was the same. Do you know what's wrong? Thanks

[@ChrisBautista]

I'm stuck at "Create LVs" for 15min now...

[@ChrisBautista]

nevermind, i just waited it out. took around 30 minutes for me

[@BIsForBudget]

Hi ChrisBautista. Thanks for sharing your experience.

can you share your bios settings as on my device it failed to install proxmox (i use ssd what come with device if that may matter).

[@BIsForBudget]

All the bios settings were kept factory/out-of-the-box. Is there a specific setting you want me to check?

​@@BIsForBudgetthanks for responding i try it again today and it actually work. I make cmos reset before installation but also actually connecting lan to network what seems to be main issue as i do cmos reset yesterday and it failed multiple time. So, if anyone has an issue with installation you may need access to the internet during installation (i guess some drivers are not included in installation image).

[@BIsForBudget]

@ Thanks for the update and for sharing. I'm glad everything worked out.

[@bokami3445]

I'm not sure if you are aware but apparently this machine is capable of using a single 32GB DDR4 SoDIMM. I picked up the same machine a few weeks back and have memory ( CMSX32GX4M1A3200C22 ) on order with Amazon (Due tomorrow). It's unfortunate that only single channel is supported but the extra memory will more than make up for it in ProxMox.

[@bokami3445]

Just a follow up to the previous message. The S12 Pro *DOES* indeed support 32GB :-). Now I'm ready to fire up ProxMox and setup some containers.

[@BIsForBudget]

@@bokami3445 Nice! Thanks for sharing. I'll be placing my order soon.

[@Luke-san]

@@bokami3445 Cool thx for the come back and reporting it. Seems like most people don't seem to do that anymore. Ordered mine on Amazon France yesterday for 180 euro and delivery seems like tomorrow on a Sunday instead of the indicated Tuesday, needless to say I can still play around with it before I go back to work on Monday. The 32GB will surely come in handy as the perfect step by step guide by the creator of this video. Kudos to both of you!

[@bokami3445]

@@Luke-san Nice! though OUCH at the price. It's unfortunate at the timing, as the prices fro RAM, SSD's, even low to mid-range HD's have all gone up in price over the last few months. Still as my Dad use to say "You only go thru life once, so what the hell..."

[@Luke-san]

@@bokami3445 Well 180 euro, they are normally 260 euro. And yes your father was absolutely right! I am a dad and I am in that moment now of just doing and buying things.