This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Rajesh Kumar Yadav
Running Docker on a Windows Server 2025 VPS can be tricky—especially without Hyper-V or GUI support. Here’s a minimal, working way to get Docker Engine running for Windows containers only.
Why Hyper-V Fails on VPS
Most VPS platforms don’t support nested virtualization, so trying to install Hyper-V leads to this error:
Hyper-V cannot be installed: The processor does not have required virtualization capabilities.
That rules out Linux containers. But you can still run Windows containers using Docker Engine directly.
Step-by-Step: Install Docker Engine Manually
- Download and extract Docker
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://download.docker.com/win/static/stable/x86_64/docker-20.10.24.zip" -OutFile "$env:TEMP\docker.zip"
Expand-Archive -Path "$env:TEMP\docker.zip" -DestinationPath "C:\Program Files\Docker"
- Add Docker to system PATH
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $env:Path + ";C:\Program Files\Docker", [System.EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine)
- Register and start the Docker service
& 'C:\Program Files\Docker\dockerd.exe' --register-service
Start-Service docker
- Set Docker to use Windows containers
docker context use default
- Test with a Windows container
docker run mcr.microsoft.com/windows/nanoserver:ltsc2022 cmd /c echo Hello from Docker
That’s it.
This setup skips broken PowerShell providers and avoids Docker Desktop entirely. Ideal for headless VPS setups or automation scripts.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Rajesh Kumar Yadav
Rajesh Kumar Yadav | Sciencx (2025-07-29T07:53:36+00:00) How to Install Docker Engine on Windows Server 2025 VPS (No Hyper-V). Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/07/29/how-to-install-docker-engine-on-windows-server-2025-vps-no-hyper-v/
Please log in to upload a file.
There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.