Introduction:

Proxmox Virtual Environment is a powerful open-source server virtualization platform to manage two virtualization technologies - KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) for virtual machines and LXC (Linux Containers) for containers - giving maximum flexibility to your production environment. Proxmox VE is based on Debian GNU/Linux and uses a custom Linux Kernel. With the integrated web-based user interface, you can manage VMs and containers, high availability for clusters, or the integrated disaster recovery tools with ease. It can deploy a single node setup or a large set of clustered nodes. 

Tools:

1. Prepare a USB flash drive with a capacity of 8GB or more. Please backup your configuration beforehand as writing the image will erase everything on the flash drive.

2. Download the Proxmox VE ISO image.

See https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads

3. Download "balenaEtcher" to flash OS images to USB drives.

See https://etcher.balena.io

Steps:

1. After downloading the Proxmox VE image file, use balenaEtcher to flash it to the USB drive. Select "Flash from file".

2. Select the downloaded Proxmox VE image file and click on "Select target".

3. Select the inserted USB drive and click "Select 1".

4. Click on "Flash!" and wait patiently for the flashing process to finish.

5. After the flashing process is completed, remove the USB drive and insert it into the mini PC. Boot up the mini PC and press "F7" to enter boot menu, then use the arrow keys to select USB disk, and press Enter.

6. Select "Install Proxmox VE" and press Enter.

7. Wait patiently for the loading.

8. Click on "I agree" on the bottom right corner to proceed.

9. Select the Target Harddisk. If there is only one disk and it should be the default option, no need to make a selection. Press the "Next" button.

10. Select the Country, Time zone and Keyboard Layout according to your needs. Once set, press the "Next" button.

11. After setting the Password and Email, press the "Next" button.

12. Verify the displayed network configuration, including Management Interface, Hostname, IP Address, Gateway, and DNS Server. After you have finished, press the "Next" button.

· Management Interface: Select the network interface according to your needs, usually applicable to hosts or computers with multiple network interfaces. 

· Hostname: You can enter your own real domain name, which can be used for remote access via the domain name. If not available, keep the default.

· IP Address: The IP address must be changed to the same subnet IP assigned by your router's DHCP, so that it can be accessed directly within the local network.

· Gateway: Enter the appropriate value based on your actual setup.

· DNS Server: Enter the appropriate value based on your actual setup. Here we keep the default.

13. Once the displayed information is confirmed to be correct, press the "Install" button to proceed with the system installation.

14. Once the installation is completed, the system will automatically restart.

15. After the startup is complete, an IP address will appear on the screen. To access the Proxmox VE virtual machine console, simply enter this URL address in a web browser on another computer within the local network.

16. The browser may display a privacy error prompt. Click on "Advanced" and select "Continue to access" to proceed.

17. Enter the User name as "root" and the password you set during the system installation. Select the language according to your needs. Click "Login" to proceed.

18. At this point, you have successfully entered the Proxmox VE system management interface! This indicates that the Proxmox VE virtual machine system has been successfully installed.