Windows 11 can take up less than 3 GB, as evidenced by the impressive engineering of the developer who created the “diet” version Nano11.
The Nano11 installation media (ISO) is just 2,2 GB, while the installed operating system reaches 2,8 GB.
“You can’t get any smaller than this,” says the developer, who took the Tiny11 Core and went further to build the smallest possible version of Windows 11 that would still run on a computer.
The developer, NTDEV, released an update for Tiny11 earlier this month that allows fans of the operating system to create Windows 11 installation images without many of the components that Microsoft considers essential, such as Copilot and the new Outlook. Not even Teams is there.
The update, according to NTDEV, is also ready for the upcoming Windows 11 25H2 update , and images will be smaller thanks to the use of LZX compression (although the developer warned, “note that it uses A LOT of RAM, so be patient.”)
As satisfying as Windows 11's excessive volume removal is, we should warn you, it's not approved by Microsoft and is best for testing.
Which brings us to Nano11, a script that takes compression to the extreme. In addition to the usual suspects (Clipchamp, News, Weather, etc.), Nano11 goes deeper and removes Windows Update, some system services, and Windows Defender?
The list goes on and on, and the developer warns, “You cannot add features back to an image created with this script!”
“The resulting operating system is not repairable. This means you cannot add languages, drivers, or features, and you will not receive Windows updates. It is intended only for testing, development, or embedded use in virtual machines where a minimal, static environment is required.”
But it's small. You can't use it as a daily operating system (the developer states, "It goes without saying that Nano11 is NOT for daily use!") However, it could be useful for testing something in a virtual machine.
Download the ISO you are interested in
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
