diff --git a/oracle/standby-server-scripts/weekly-dr-test-proxmox.sh b/oracle/standby-server-scripts/weekly-dr-test-proxmox.sh
index 946dc44..fbdc616 100644
--- a/oracle/standby-server-scripts/weekly-dr-test-proxmox.sh
+++ b/oracle/standby-server-scripts/weekly-dr-test-proxmox.sh
@@ -353,8 +353,44 @@ run_dr_test() {
 
         if qm start "$DR_VM_ID" 2>/dev/null; then
             vm_status_label="Running"
-            sleep 180  # Wait for boot
-            track_step "VM Startup" true "VM $DR_VM_ID started" "$step_start"
+            
+            # Intelligent VM boot wait with polling (max 180s)
+            local MAX_BOOT_WAIT=180
+            local POLL_INTERVAL=5
+            local boot_elapsed=0
+            local vm_ready=false
+            
+            log "Waiting for VM to become ready (SSH + PowerShell, max ${MAX_BOOT_WAIT}s)..."
+            
+            while [ $boot_elapsed -lt $MAX_BOOT_WAIT ]; do
+                # Check 1: VM running status in Proxmox
+                local vm_qm_status
+                vm_qm_status=$(qm status "$DR_VM_ID" 2>/dev/null | grep -o "running" || echo "")
+                
+                if [ "$vm_qm_status" = "running" ]; then
+                    # Check 2: SSH connectivity and PowerShell availability (what we actually need)
+                    if ssh -p "$DR_VM_PORT" -o ConnectTimeout=5 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes "$DR_VM_USER@$DR_VM_IP" \
+                        "powershell -Command 'Write-Output ready'" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+                        log "VM ready after ${boot_elapsed}s (SSH and PowerShell responding)"
+                        vm_ready=true
+                        break
+                    fi
+                fi
+                
+                sleep $POLL_INTERVAL
+                boot_elapsed=$((boot_elapsed + POLL_INTERVAL))
+                
+                # Progress logging every 30 seconds
+                if [ $((boot_elapsed % 30)) -eq 0 ] && [ $boot_elapsed -lt $MAX_BOOT_WAIT ]; then
+                    log "Still waiting for VM... (${boot_elapsed}s/${MAX_BOOT_WAIT}s elapsed)"
+                fi
+            done
+            
+            if [ "$vm_ready" = false ]; then
+                log_warning "VM did not respond within ${MAX_BOOT_WAIT}s, continuing anyway (may cause subsequent failures)"
+            fi
+            
+            track_step "VM Startup" true "VM $DR_VM_ID started and ready (${boot_elapsed}s)" "$step_start"
 
             # Step 3: Verify NFS mount
             step_start=$(date +%s)