XCP-ng Windows PV tools announcements

[Greg_E]

Just wanted to add a comment:

Thanks for continuing to release the drivers in an ISO. I was having some slowness with the 9.0.9 versions that are currently included with XCP-ng, this is a new Windows 11 25h2 that I'm working with to prototype a workflow in my lab. I just grabbed the 9.1.x ISO from Github and copied it to my ISO SR and installed. There seems to be a slight performance increase in this Win11 VM. That said, 25h2 is horribly bloated with junk, so much so that I think I'm going to need to strip a bunch out before I put this version into production. This might be a condition for MicroWin customization.

Or maybe add a couple of things to the LTSC version (we have licensing for this at work).

[john.c]

@Greg_E said in XCP-ng Windows PV tools announcements:

Just wanted to add a comment:

Thanks for continuing to release the drivers in an ISO. I was having some slowness with the 9.0.9 versions that are currently included with XCP-ng, this is a new Windows 11 25h2 that I'm working with to prototype a workflow in my lab. I just grabbed the 9.1.x ISO from Github and copied it to my ISO SR and installed. There seems to be a slight performance increase in this Win11 VM. That said, 25h2 is horribly bloated with junk, so much so that I think I'm going to need to strip a bunch out before I put this version into production. This might be a condition for MicroWin customization.

Or maybe add a couple of things to the LTSC version (we have licensing for this at work).

Download the full Windows 11 ISO then use Microsoft Windows ADK. To customise, strip down unwanted parts, including appx provision packages and slipstream in drivers and/or msi installers.

If your using a high enough edition of Windows 11 version 25H2 don’t forget the new GroupPolicy option to remove default packages!

[Greg_E]

@john.c

I'll have to update group policy and check that out, would be a time saver. Everything I use is an Enterprise level of some kind, using EDU in production right now, and Pro/Enterprise evaluation in the lab.

I was looking at running a post imaging script to prevent some of the bloat, but a GPO might be easier.

[john.c]

@Greg_E said in XCP-ng Windows PV tools announcements:

@john.c

I'll have to update group policy and check that out, would be a time saver. Everything I use is an Enterprise level of some kind, using EDU in production right now, and Pro/Enterprise evaluation in the lab.

I was looking at running a post imaging script to prevent some of the bloat, but a GPO might be easier.

You can use Windows ADK to customise the installation media and build a custom ISO. That file can then be placed on your ISO SR. The GPO is especially effective when combined with a custom ISO built using Windows ADK.

I have tried this myself and it’s very effective doing it this way, the Windows ADK tool is very powerful but will require time to learn. Will save time with all of the extra installations, if you use a custom ISO.

[tsukraw]

When it comes to the feature to disable time sync.
If you had previously installed a version of PV that did not have it, then install the newest version and enable the option to disable time sync.

Should that remove it or do you have uninstall the old version first and install the new version?

[dinhngtu]

@tsukraw There's no need to uninstall the old version, the upgrade is enough.

The feature to disable time sync is also just a convenience shortcut for setting the TimeSyncMode value in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\xenagent to a DWORD of 0. You can set it manually or through Group Policy if you wish. (In fact, GPO might be a better solution on domain environments)

[dinhngtu]

Hello all,

The XCP-ng Standard VGA Display Driver for Windows v0.1.29.2216 has been released https://github.com/xcp-ng/win-xstdvga

This driver provides high-resolution consoles and resolution switching for Windows VMs running on the XCP-ng hypervisor.

This is a beta release. This driver will eventually be integrated into the main Windows PV tools package.

Driver rereleased with bug fixes. See below

[acebmxer]

@dinhngtu said in XCP-ng Windows PV tools announcements:

Hello all,

The XCP-ng Standard VGA Display Driver for Windows v0.1.29.2216 has been released https://github.com/xcp-ng/win-xstdvga

This driver provides high-resolution consoles and resolution switching for Windows VMs running on the XCP-ng hypervisor.

This is a beta release. This driver will eventually be integrated into the main Windows PV tools package.

Driver pulled for bug fixes. Will come back soon

Test on windows 11 vm no issues to report.

[dinhngtu]

Hello all,

The XCP-ng Standard VGA Display Driver v0.1.34.2310 is released with important compatibility fixes for Windows Server.
Get it here: https://github.com/xcp-ng/win-xstdvga/releases

This driver provides high-resolution consoles and resolution switching in Xen Orchestra for Windows VMs running on the XCP-ng hypervisor.

This is a beta release. This driver will eventually be integrated into the main Windows PV tools package.

Changelog:

• Add support for multiple VGA devices
• Fix compatibility with older versions of Windows Server
• Enable CET Shadow Stack support
• Add device name branding

[manilx]

@dinhngtu downloaded on a windows server 2022, extracted and did the inf install. No visual feedback.
How do I know it was installed?

[manilx]

Answering myself:

[Pilow]

@dinhngtu tried on a Windows Server 2025 VM, UEFI BIOS
working well, no reboot needed

[dinhngtu]

Hello all,

Version 9.1.145 Release of the Windows PV tools has been released.

(Despite the name, it's still signed; I simply dropped the "Signed" moniker)

Download the latest release here: https://github.com/xcp-ng/win-pv-drivers/releases

It will be integrated into the XCP-ng built-in tools ISO after a test period of 2 weeks.

This release brings the new XCP-ng Standard VGA Display Driver as well as multiple bug fixes to all Windows drivers and guest tools components.

Changes since 9.1.100

• NEW: The XCP-ng Standard VGA Display Driver is now included in the package.
• Improved: XenClean is now a single executable that's more convenient to use.
• Improved: Better uninstalling of existing drivers.
• Fixes: Automatic time sync is now disabled by default on new installations. NTP sync with W32Time is recommended instead.
  • To disable time sync on an existing installation, use the Modify button in Installed apps.
• Fixes: Xen Guest Agent now operates correctly during driver restarts and upgrades.
• Fixes: Fix uninstallation of individual drivers.
• Fixes: Improve stability and efficiency of Xenbus and Xenvbd.

Help / Community support

If you encounter installation/uninstallation errors, please try again with one of the following commands:

For installing:
msiexec.exe /i XenTools-x64.msi /log install.log

For uninstalling:
msiexec.exe /x XenTools-x64.msi /log uninstall.log

Please include this log along with the file C:\Windows\INF\setupapi.dev.log in your bug report. These files will help us troubleshoot any installation issues.

Full Changelog: https://github.com/xcp-ng/win-pv-drivers/compare/v9.1.100...v9.1.145
Original build: https://github.com/xcp-ng/win-pv-drivers/actions/runs/23188455900

[acebmxer]

Install went with out issues on my homelab pc windows 11.

I used the installer found in the package folder.

[manilx]

@dinhngtu Upgraded from previous tools (big jump from citrix was already done ) @home and @office a dozen Windows11 and Windows Server 2022.
No issues.

[conitrade-as]

We noticed that using the XCP-ng Windows PV tools brakes some functionality of the shared clipboard. On a fully patched XCP-ng 8.3 host using Xen Orchestra 5 (actually the 6.2.2 build, but the v5 interface) allows only to copy the clipboard from the VM to the browser, not the other way around.

[dinhngtu]

@conitrade-as There should be a fix for that in 9.1.145. Could you try it?

[conitrade-as]

@dinhngtu That indeed seems to work. I just realized, that this is a timing issue as well. Sometimes the copy&paste works after a slight delay, where the console seems non-responsive (e.g. cannot move the mouse cursor). After something like ~15 secs things work as expected. For subsequent copy&paste operations the delay seems to be much lower.

[dinhngtu]

@conitrade-as Sounds like a problem somewhere in the clipboard stack, I'll look into that.