The other day I posted about Tiny11, a modified Win11 ISO that would install a copy of Win11 that only takes up ~8GB of storage. [Note: I’m skeptical of the article’s author’s claims that it improves Windows performance on low-end / old hardware.]
neowin[.]net/news/tiny11-is-outa-lightweight-and-debloated-windows-11-for-less-powerful-computers/
A new article features a YouTube video showing how Tiny11 was made – it’s a screen recording with no audio, showing that 2 tools were used to remove Windows features &/or components, MSMG Toolkit & NTLite.
neowin[.]net/news/a-new-video-shows-how-to-create-a-lightweight-and-debloated-windows-11/
msmgtoolkit[.]in/index.html
ntlite[.]com/
The files that make up Windows are contained in an image file [.wim or .esd] on the setup ISO that’s unpacked when you run the setup routine. MSMG Toolkit & NTLite mount that image file – basically unpack it, like unpacking a Zip file – and let you modify and add or remove files, then repack it into a compressed .wim file. Both tools are generally intended for people who will be installing Windows on several PCs/laptops and prefer or need a customized version – for most people it’s way overkill. Tiny11 is a vanity project – the author can brag that they did that – without much practical value, but it’s not hard to shrink Windows and still preserve full functionality.
While it’s not recommended if Windows is installed on a conventional hard disk, Compact OS, included in Windows, will reduce Window’s footprint by compressing its files. Note: this is different from NTFS File Compression.
learn.microsoft[.]com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/compact-os?view=windows-11
learn.microsoft[.]com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/file-compression-and-decompression
If the device has limited fixed storage, like my tablets, you can not only install software to secondary storage [with my tablets a micro SD card], but move several user folders there too, along with many installed apps from the Store. You can also move the page & swap files off the Windows drive, and turn off hibernation, getting rid of that multi GB file. Running Windows Disk Cleanup after a driver installation or update & after a Windows update will get rid of temporary files you no longer need, but particularly on Win11, you should also run “dism /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup” at the Command Prompt. [Note: neither will always get rid of duplicate drivers stored in Windows\ System32\ DriverStore\ FileRepository\. Wiztree can help you find large duplicates, but note you’ll have to take ownership before you can delete a folder.] The Windows\ SoftwareDistribution\ Download\ folder can also be deleted [it can grow to multi-GB]. None of this of course will do anything about installed software wasting space, which is just something you’ll need to track on a case by case basis when you install or update an app or driver, e.g., Razor’s software will gladly accumulate GB of old installation files.
And you can remove much of the software that’s installed with Windows by default. Some stuff you can remove using Settings -> Apps, and there are several 3rd party apps that will uninstall software that’s not listed, or that don’t give the uninstall option in Apps. A new one for Win11 is called Debloos:
github[.]com/builtbybel/Debloos/releases/tag/0.30.0
You can also use WinGet on the Command Line, which is part of the code that the Windows Store uses… it can list, install, update, & uninstall apps for you. Using Windows PowerShell, the AppxPackage Cmdlets can also help for app packages with an .msix or .appx file name extension.
learn.microsoft[.]com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/
learn.microsoft[.]com/en-us/powershell/module/appx/remove-appxpackage?view=windowsserver2022-ps
For Win10 Only, you *might* consider using the 32-bit version, even though Microsoft has a history of ignoring it as much as possible. It does pretty much everything the 64-bit version does but is a few GB smaller.