● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportLow impact1 neutral
NTDEV Compresses Windows 11 to Fit on a CD-ROM Using Unreleased Pico11 Tool
Key points
- Windows 11 ISO compressed to 699.8MB using Pico11.
- Fits on a 700MB CD-ROM with a working desktop.
- Removes Windows Update and servicing for size reduction.
- Pico11 features will be added to the Tiny11 builder tool.
Extreme Windows 11 Compression Achieved
NTDEV, known for creating compact Windows installations, showcased a Windows 11 ISO compressed to 699,811,840 bytes. This size allows the entire operating system installer to fit onto a standard 700MB CD-ROM. The compression was achieved using an unreleased tool named Pico11.
Functional Desktop with Core Applications
The demonstrated installation, running in a virtual machine with 4GB RAM, used approximately 883MB of RAM. It maintained a familiar Windows 11 desktop environment, with applications like Calculator, Settings, Notepad, and Paint remaining functional. An older, lightweight version of Task Manager was observed in this build.
Limitations and Purpose
This highly compressed version of Windows 11 is an experimental proof-of-concept, not intended as a replacement for a standard installation. To achieve the small footprint, Windows Update and general servicing components were removed. This makes the installation unsuitable for regular use requiring updates or recovery features.
Future Integration with Tiny11
NTDEV announced plans to integrate the capabilities of Pico11 into their existing Tiny11 builder tool, which is available on GitHub. Tiny11 already offers various modes for creating smaller Windows 11 installations, including Tiny11 Core, which also omits servicing and recovery support. The new Pico11 features suggest further under-the-hood optimizations.
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Primary sources
GitHub ntdevlabs/tiny11builderReporting from
NTDEV demonstrated a proof-of-concept Windows 11 installation compressed to 699.8MB, fitting onto a CD-ROM, using their unreleased Pico11 tool. This version retains a functional desktop and core applications but removes Windows Update and servicing to achieve its small size. NTDEV plans to integrate Pico11 capabilities into their existing Tiny11 builder tool.