Windows, whether you love it or hate it, is by and large the operating system that most people use. Until fairly recently, if you wanted to play on another platform like Linux or Mac, you could often run out of luck. With the introduction of Proton and the Steam Deck, things become more accessible for Linux platforms, although some groundbreaking third-party issues (opens in a new tab) persist. But there aren’t many options for less powerful machines when it comes to running a new version of Windows. That’s until Tom’s Hardware (opens in a new tab) spotted NTDev’s work on Tiny11 (opens in a new tab)a reduced version of the current Microsoft operating system.
For the most part, we like Windows 11 quite well. (opens in a new tab). It definitely had some teething issues, but with constant patching it’s starting to become worthy (opens in a new tab) of most PC gaming setups. It works well on most modern machines, but considering it needs more than 20 GB for installation and around 8 GB of RAM (opens in a new tab) to work, it’s just not the solution for some older or just smaller versions. These types of setups would often be left to Linux or perhaps an older Windows system unless they wanted to try Tiny11.
Tiny11 is a project by NTDev that shrinks Windows 11 into a one-byte-sized version of the operating system. With Tiny11, that 20 GB of required installation space has been reduced to eight, with the potential to be even lower with additional disk compression. As for the RAM, it only needs 2 GB to work “well”, but can work a little, although very slowly on less than 400 MB (opens in a new tab).
For this to work, NTDev had to remove a lot of bloatware from Windows 11. The OS itself in Tiny11 only takes up 6.34 GB, the rest is taken up by surviving apps. These include many basics such as the calculator and notepad, but also access to the Microsoft store so you can always download new programs.
Some of Tiny11’s features are made possible by Rufus, a tool that lets you get around without having a Microsoft account for general use. That being said, using the Microsoft Store and other features will likely still require an account, so it depends on how you intend to use your Tiny11 machine in terms of your interaction with Microsoft’s ecosystems.
Another potential drawback of this type of system is that it is not officially supported. Thanks to the scaled-down nature of Tiny11, there will be features that you won’t need. Also, it won’t update on its own, so you might need to keep an eye out for future NTDev releases as well.
All that aside, it sounds like a great way to have Microsoft’s latest and greatest operating system on your obscure little PC. Whether your machine is just a bit too old to keep up with the big boys, or you’re planning hobbyist projects that require a stripped down operating system, this actually makes Windows a viable option. We just need to see if it can run Crysis before giving it PC gaming approval.
