Windows 11 Inbox VMware drivers.

If you've tried to install a new Windows virtual machine on vSphere using the VMware Paravirtual SCSI controller (PVSCSI) you probably have encountered a screen where your disk(s) are not visible as an installation target. This is because without the PVSCSI driver, Windows is unable to identify disks using the PVSCSI controller and you had to side-load the driver (see KB Article 1010398 ). Those days are now behind us.

Windows 11 version 2H22, released September 20th 2022, now contains the VMware PVSCSI driver and VMware VMXNET3 driver as inbox drivers.

This means PVSCSI disks will now show by default, seen below, when installing new Windows 11 virtual machines and network connectivity can be configured and used during the Windows Out of Box Experience (OOBE). This is a great addition and a result of an ongoing partnership with Microsoft.

However, this does not mean that you should not continue to install VMware Tools in your virtual machines. VMware Tools provides far more benefits than just a few device drivers.

In addition, this is a good time to remind you that the VMware PVSCSI and VMware VMXNET3 drivers are also included in Windows Updates.

For more details on what VMware drivers are available through Windows Updates, see KB Article 82290 or search the Microsoft Update Catalog.