Towards the end of last year, the industrious developer managed to fit Microsoft’s big Windows 11 2024 update to ‘DVD-size’ (3.54GB) with extra storage to spare. More recently, the developer managed to run Windows 11 on less than 200MB of RAM. While sharing the impressive feat on X, the developer indicated:
“Somehow I managed to make Windows 11 (through tiny11 and all that stuff, of course) run on just 184MB of RAM, which even though it’s in Safe Mode I still think it’s absolutely insane, and possibly a record.”
It’s amazing what you can do even with such a “closed” system as Windows.Somehow I managed to make Windows 11 (through tiny11 and all that stuff, of course) run on just 184MB of RAM, which even though it’s in Safe Mode I still think it’s absolutely insane, and possibly a record. pic.twitter.com/IPK24LqjBJDecember 26, 2024
For context, Tiny11 is a third-party software (developed by NTDEV) representing a lightweight version of Windows 11 designed to run on old PCs that don’t meet Windows 11’s strict system requirements. The program scales Windows 11’s 20GB install size to less than 4GB of RAM.
It worth noting that the experience could potentially ship with its fair share of setbacks, including blue screen errors, system instability, and data loss. You also risk not getting updates from Microsoft since they are not supported on your system or even “bricking” your device.
But you can only get so far running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware with 200MB of RAM. As highlighted by a concerned user on NTDEV’s post, “Audio looks to be broken, and I see no indication of a working internet connection. Also can you install MSI applications? Can you run DirectX applications?”
The app strips down pre-installed apps and bloatware, leaving Windows 11 with the essentials. While the latest version of Tiny11 might be minuscule, it leaves question marks about its usability.
Microsoft is set to end support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, a little under 10 months from now, which could potentially lead to “the single biggest jump in junked computers ever.” The tech giant has used multiple avenues to get users to upgrade to Windows 11, including full-screen multipage popup ads and touting the operating system as a reliable source for celebrity gossip, stocks, and weather updates.
Still, users are hell-bent on using Windows 10 despite its imminent death. Their reluctance to upgrade can be attributed to Windows 11’s stringent requirements and flawed system design.
