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

1. 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"

1. Add Docker to system PATH

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $env:Path + ";C:\Program Files\Docker", [System.EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine)

1. Register and start the Docker service

& 'C:\Program Files\Docker\dockerd.exe' --register-service
Start-Service docker

1. Set Docker to use Windows containers

docker context use default

1. 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.