Microsoft says Windows 11 needs 4GB of RAM. NTDEV just booted it with 128MB — about 3.1% of the official minimum.

The developer behind Tiny11 has done it again. In a new demonstration, Windows 11 26H2 reaches the desktop, opens File Explorer, shows the Start menu, and launches classic Notepad with just 128MB of system memory. It is a remarkable piece of systems engineering — and a terrible way to actually run a computer.

What actually happened

NTDEV published a video showing the stripped-down build running under an extremely small memory footprint. The system is not a full Windows installation in any practical sense: components, services, and background workloads have been removed or disabled, and performance is described as extremely slow. Limited multitasking is possible, but the result is a technical demo, not a daily driver.

The 128MB figure matters because it is so far below Microsoft’s official 4GB floor. It shows how much of Windows can be removed before the graphical shell stops working. It does not show that Windows 11 can be used normally on 128MB.

How is this even possible?

Tiny11 is a project that rebuilds Windows installation media with selected components and applications removed. Pico11 goes further, producing extremely small installation images. Both approaches trade capability for size: the more you strip, the less Windows can do — and the more likely you are to lose servicing, security updates, and compatibility.

At 128MB, Windows has almost no room for the things people actually depend on: a browser, security software, multiple applications, background updates, or even a comfortable file copy. When physical memory runs out, Windows compresses memory and moves less-active data to storage. That keeps the desktop alive, but storage is far slower than RAM, so the experience collapses under real work.

What it proves — and what it doesn’t

It proves that the Windows shell is more modular than its official requirements suggest. It also proves that “boots to a desktop” is a very low bar. A machine that can show a taskbar but cannot browse the web, run antivirus, or open two apps at once is not a usable computer.

It does not prove that old PCs can be revived with a tiny Windows image. Removing servicing components can leave a system without security updates, and the configuration is fragile. For anything connected to the internet, that is a bad trade.

How to try it safely (tutorial)

1. Use a virtual machine. VirtualBox, VMware, or Hyper-V. Never test this on your daily machine.
2. Start with an official Windows 11 ISO. Build the slim image with the Tiny11 builder from NTDEV’s GitHub project; do not download random prebuilt ISOs.
3. Give the VM 2–4GB RAM first. Get a baseline before trying extreme limits. Snapshot the VM so you can roll back.
4. Test only offline. Confirm what still works: Explorer, Settings, Notepad, drivers. Expect failures in browsers, updates, and modern apps.
5. Do not use it for production. No security updates, no support, and no reliable recovery path.

The bottom line

The 128MB boot is a great engineering stunt and a useful reminder of how much overhead a modern OS carries. It is not a hardware recommendation. Microsoft’s 4GB minimum remains the practical floor for a real Windows 11 installation — and for most people, 8GB is the sensible starting point.

Sources: Pureinfotech, Wccftech, and NTDEV’s demonstration.