Lessons I learned from a system with only 32GB storage


hsehestedt

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I have a friend that has a super basic ASUS laptop, an ASUS VivoBook 12 E203MA. He wanted a system for nothing more than browsing the web, checking e-mail, and editing a few documents in Word. The system has only 32GB of storage and 4GB RAM, but at $139 it was a deal he couldn't pass up.

This system originally shipped with Win 10 and he was a couple of versions of Win 10 back. He asked me to upgrade the system and wanted to know if it could run Windows 11. Initially, I didn't realize that the system only had 32GB storage, but I went up to ASUS website and sure enough, they had all Win 11 drivers available. It was only when I started backing up his system that I realized he only had 32GB storage. This was confusing to me because I thought that the minimum requirement for 11 was 64GB of storage.

Even with so little storage, I noticed that with his Win 10 installation, he still had over 13GB space left. That's when I remembered that Windows had an option available to perform a "Compact OS" installation. I was able to verify that the factory installation of Windows 10 was indeed a compact OS installation. I started investigating how I might perform a compact OS installation of Windows 11. It turns out that this can be done by a single one-line entry in an unattended answer file. Many of you who know me also know that unattended installation is "my thing". So, all I had to do was modify a single entry in an answer file that I already had and start my installation. A few minutes later, I had a complete installation. Then I allowed Windows update to perform all of its updates, and it installed absolutely EVERYTHING from Windows update. I didn't have to manually install a single driver. It even automatically updated the BIOS (I know some of you do not like that).

When I was done, I had a system with over 13GB free space, almost identical to Win 10, and Win 11 seems to run faster than Win 10 did.

The bottom line for me was that I found myself amazed at how well Windows 11 runs on really low-end hardware and what an excellent job ASUS is doing of putting all their drivers up on Windows Update. This was a wonderful experience, especially since I was fully expecting failure.

So, don't be afraid to experiment with Windows 11 on very low-end hardware!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
This was confusing to me because I thought that the minimum requirement for 11 was 64GB of storage.
It is, and for Win10 too now - but this restriction only applies to OEMs when designing/supplying new machines.

A few years back MS raised the bar for OEMs and will only licence them to install Windows on their new designs if they have a minimum of 64GB storage. They are also required them to only install 64 bit W10 too. This only applies to new machines. For consumers with existing (now) below spec machines with smaller drive MS still support them, and their 32 bit W10 installs.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
I believe feature/in place upgrades will probably fail with the limited drive space available, unless additional storage is attached, as there won't be enough headroom to 'download' the upgrade files and create/store the Windows.old backup. That's certainly what happened with the Windows 10 feature updates.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    macOS (plus VMs: Windows XP, 7, 10 Home/Pro, 11 Home/Pro, Linux Distros)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    a) Apple MacBook Pro (Intel) - 2019 b) Apple MacBook Pro M1 MAX - 2021
    CPU
    a) Intel i9 b) M1 MAX (ARM)
    Memory
    a) 16GB b) 32GB
    Hard Drives
    a) 1TB SSD + 256GB SD Card b) 1TB SSD (+ 1TB SD Card)
    Browser
    a) Safari/Vivaldi/DuckDuckGo b) Safari/DuckDuckGo
    Antivirus
    -
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro (plus VirtualBox VMs: Windows 11 Pro & Linux Distros)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    a) Microsoft Surface Book 2, b) HP Spectre X360
    CPU
    a) i7, b) i7
    Memory
    a) 16GB, b) 16GB
    Hard Drives
    a) 1TB SSD, b) 1TB SSD
    Browser
    a) MS Edge, b) MS Edge
    Antivirus
    a) Defender, b) Defender
Windows 10 and Windows 11 per Microsoft have 20 GB and 65 GB storage requirements respectively.

Windows to go was an option to use a smaller storage size for a Windows 10 installation.

The Windows to go feature was deprecated.





In this video they were able to use Rufus to install Windows 11 on a 32 GB SD card:

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
I believe feature/in place upgrades will probably fail with the limited drive space available, unless additional storage is attached, as there won't be enough headroom to 'download' the upgrade files and create/store the Windows.old backup. That's certainly what happened with the Windows 10 feature updates.
I clone my 32GB 64bit laptop to a larger vhdx on a usb drive, then mount vhdx on hyper-v, do updates, then disk cleanup and then clone vhdx back to laptop.

I can do similar with my 32GB 32bit tablet but I have to jump through some hoops and loops as Hyper-V does not support 32bit UEFI. More hassle than it is worth tbh.

Incidentally, I have yet to try it but I might try updating 32 GB laptop to W11 by same approach i.e. clone W10 to vhdx, mount in Hyper-V on another pc, upgrade to W11, then reclone back to low end laptop.

This way I do not have to even do a clean install.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Lessons I learned, reading this topic: Get more storage. :cool:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
Lessons I learned, reading this topic: Get more storage. :cool:
The problem being that these lower spec machines invariably have soldered in 32GB or 64GB eMMC drives.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Lessons I learned, reading this topic: Get more storage. :cool:
Of course, but most of these low end devices use emmc memory and storage cannot be upgraded but it is surprising (with a bit of thinking) the tricks you can do with a usb/sd card with a virtual hard drive vhdx file on them, so you make a removable drive look like a fixed hard drive, then relocate apps, data, pagefiles etc. Tricky part is mounting vhdx automatically at boot time. It can be temperamental even using Task Scheduler.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
The problem being that these lower spec machines invariably have soldered in 32GB or 64GB eMMC drives.

Of course, but most of these low end devices use emmc memory and storage cannot be upgraded but it is surprising (with a bit of thinking) the tricks you can do with a usb/sd card with a virtual hard drive vhdx file on them, so you make a removable drive look like a fixed hard drive, then relocate apps, data, pagefiles etc. Tricky part is mounting vhdx automatically at boot time. It can be temperamental even using Task Scheduler.



I know guys. I was kidding. :-)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
I was actually pretty impressed with how little storage space it took up. By installing Windows with Compact OS turned on, I still had over 13 GB free space on a 32 GB eMMC storage.

While I installed Windows with Compact OS enabled right from the start, you can enable it and disable it at will like this:

You can determine if the system is running a Compact OS by running this command: Compact /CompactOS:Query

You can enable Compact OS with this command from an elevated command prompt: Compact /CompactOS:Always

You can disable Compact OS with this command from an elevated command prompt: Compact /CompactOS:Never

On a 64-bit OS this supposedly saves about 2.6 GB of space.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
I was actually pretty impressed with how little storage space it took up. By installing Windows with Compact OS turned on, I still had over 13 GB free space on a 32 GB eMMC storage.

While I installed Windows with Compact OS enabled right from the start, you can enable it and disable it at will like this:

You can determine if the system is running a Compact OS by running this command: Compact /CompactOS:Query

You can enable Compact OS with this command from an elevated command prompt: Compact /CompactOS:Always

You can disable Compact OS with this command from an elevated command prompt: Compact /CompactOS:Never

On a 64-bit OS this supposedly saves about 2.6 GB of space.
It certainly does save space. In fact, you should not need to turn it on - the installer is supposed to be clever enough work it out automatically.

However, I am not sure what the threshold is and I suspect for 64GB drives (needed for W11) it may not default to compact.

You do not need to have CompactOS enabled at installation time to later switch back or forth.

CompactOS was bought in to replace the older compact wimboot method used in Windows 8.1 to put OS on 16/32 GB tablets (the special 32bit Windows 8 with Bing OS).

The biggest issue with these early 32GB devices was they were installed as 32bit UEFI even though the cpu was 64bit, to save more space still. It was impossible to change these early devices to 64bit as the 32bit UEFI was baked into the firmware.

This was fine for W10 but of course W11 does not support 32bit.

Eventually, with advent of compactos and W10, 64bit installations became possible.

One can go one stage further and compress the whole hard drive but I have never tried that on my 32GB travel laptop.

Incidentally, on more modern 32GB devices, pretty sure you can install as 32bit in legacy bios mode for W10 to save more space.

I just did that and I have nearly 18 GB free.

1660983801255.png

Edit: just had a thought - is emmc drive actually 32 GiB or 32GB - I have a feeling without checking the emmc drives were 32,000,000 bytes which is strictly 32 GB. If so, the free space will be a bit less!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
You do not need to have CompactOS enabled at installation time to later switch back or forth.
Interesting. I was not aware of that. I may try that just to prove that to myself.

Thanks for the info!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
Lessons I learned, reading this topic: Get more storage. :cool:
Get more money, easier said than done. Still I prefer cloud over a local disk, it provides multiple copies "for free". I have 500GB disk and I could use an extra space wasted on Windows partition, but it does not let me install it on anything smaller, so ~30GB wasted. :cautious:
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 3600 & No fTPM (07/19)
    Motherboard
    MSI B450 TOMAHAWK 7C02v1E & IFX TPM (07/19)
    Memory
    4x 8GB ADATA XPG GAMMIX D10 DDR4 3200MHz CL16
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Radeon RX 580 ARMOR 8G OC @48FPS (08/19)
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster Z (11/16)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" AOC G2460VQ6 (01/19)
    Screen Resolution
    1920×1080@75Hz & FreeSync (DisplayPort)
    Hard Drives
    ADATA XPG GAMMIX S11 Pro SSD 512GB (07/19)
    PSU
    Seasonic M12II-520 80 Plus Bronze (11/16)
    Case
    Lian Li PC-7NB & 3x Noctua NF-S12A FLX@700rpm (11/16)
    Cooling
    CPU Cooler Noctua NH-U12S@700rpm (07/19)
    Keyboard
    HP Wired Desktop 320K + Rabalux 76017 Parker (01/24)
    Mouse
    Logitech M330 Silent Plus (04/23)
    Internet Speed
    400/40 Mbps via RouterOS (05/21) & TCP Optimizer
    Browser
    Edge (No FB/Google) & Brave for YouTube & LibreWolf for FB
    Antivirus
    NoAV & Binisoft WFC & NextDNS
    Other Info
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170 (09/10)
    Phone: Samsung Galaxy Xcover 7 (02/24)
I did some testing with interesting results...

Storage Space
=============

I configured a VM with only 32GB RAM. Windows setup ran with no problem at all. I found that a little odd since the minimum requirement is supposed to be 64GB. NOTE: When I installed on the 32GB laptop, I enabled the registry setting to bypass storage space checking. In this test, I used no bypass settings.

So, I tried again, this time creating a disk of only 25GB in size. This time I got an error message like this:

Image1.jpg

Oddly, when I click on "Next" Windows installation proceeds perfectly normally!

Compact OS
==========

On both 32GB and 25GB disks, the OS was not automatically installed with Compact turned on. So, that brings up yet another interesting observation: "When I checked the status, I got a message that says, "The system is not in the Compact state but may become compact as needed". That almost sounds like it is implying that it can turn Compact on dynamically.

So, for my next test I started filling up the HD and got to a point where I had 334MB free space, but Windows did not automatically enable Compact.

If I run the command compact /compactos:never it checks to see if there are any files that need to be uncompressed. Then it shows this message: "The system is not in the Compact state. It will remain in this state unless an administrator changes it". So, the message has now changed.

Finally, I turned on Compact and it saved me about 2.5GB of space.

Testing was performed with Win 11 22H2.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
I did some testing with interesting results...

Storage Space
=============

I configured a VM with only 32GB RAM. Windows setup ran with no problem at all. I found that a little odd since the minimum requirement is supposed to be 64GB. NOTE: When I installed on the 32GB laptop, I enabled the registry setting to bypass storage space checking. In this test, I used no bypass settings.

So, I tried again, this time creating a disk of only 25GB in size. This time I got an error message like this:

View attachment 36896

Oddly, when I click on "Next" Windows installation proceeds perfectly normally!

Compact OS
==========

On both 32GB and 25GB disks, the OS was not automatically installed with Compact turned on. So, that brings up yet another interesting observation: "When I checked the status, I got a message that says, "The system is not in the Compact state but may become compact as needed". That almost sounds like it is implying that it can turn Compact on dynamically.

So, for my next test I started filling up the HD and got to a point where I had 334MB free space, but Windows did not automatically enable Compact.

If I run the command compact /compactos:never it checks to see if there are any files that need to be uncompressed. Then it shows this message: "The system is not in the Compact state. It will remain in this state unless an administrator changes it". So, the message has now changed.

Finally, I turned on Compact and it saved me about 2.5GB of space.

Testing was performed with Win 11 22H2.
I have seen a device turn on compacting dynamically in the past - however I think it only works one way i.e. it does not automatically turn off if more space becomes available. I played a lot with compactOS when windows 10 first came out.

This link explains the Compact OS pre-cursor wimboot.


Compact OS does essentially same except it uses the compressed files from WinSxS folders in C drive rather than a separate partition, but was more flexible. The old wimboot needed a special OS to work, and and was only ever supplied by oem vendors. MS never produced an iso although some enthusiasts created their own. Problem was it was virtually impossible to clean install - if you tried to clean install a standard iso, it took a lot more space and often did not have special drivers. Worse, the licence for 8.1+Bing was not compatible with standard 8.1, and you could end up unactivated, and semi-bricked as well.

From W10, the compression ability was built into standard Windows making it a lot easier to clean install. Also there was no licence difference anymore.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
I have a friend that has a super basic ASUS laptop, an ASUS VivoBook 12 E203MA. He wanted a system for nothing more than browsing the web, checking e-mail, and editing a few documents in Word. The system has only 32GB of storage and 4GB RAM, but at $139 it was a deal he couldn't pass up.

This system originally shipped with Win 10 and he was a couple of versions of Win 10 back. He asked me to upgrade the system and wanted to know if it could run Windows 11. Initially, I didn't realize that the system only had 32GB storage, but I went up to ASUS website and sure enough, they had all Win 11 drivers available. It was only when I started backing up his system that I realized he only had 32GB storage. This was confusing to me because I thought that the minimum requirement for 11 was 64GB of storage.

Even with so little storage, I noticed that with his Win 10 installation, he still had over 13GB space left. That's when I remembered that Windows had an option available to perform a "Compact OS" installation. I was able to verify that the factory installation of Windows 10 was indeed a compact OS installation. I started investigating how I might perform a compact OS installation of Windows 11. It turns out that this can be done by a single one-line entry in an unattended answer file. Many of you who know me also know that unattended installation is "my thing". So, all I had to do was modify a single entry in an answer file that I already had and start my installation. A few minutes later, I had a complete installation. Then I allowed Windows update to perform all of its updates, and it installed absolutely EVERYTHING from Windows update. I didn't have to manually install a single driver. It even automatically updated the BIOS (I know some of you do not like that).

When I was done, I had a system with over 13GB free space, almost identical to Win 10, and Win 11 seems to run faster than Win 10 did.

The bottom line for me was that I found myself amazed at how well Windows 11 runs on really low-end hardware and what an excellent job ASUS is doing of putting all their drivers up on Windows Update. This was a wonderful experience, especially since I was fully expecting failure.

So, don't be afraid to experiment with Windows 11 on very low-end hardware!
It's all well and good that you had such an enjoyable experience with a 32GB system . . .

Back when they first came out, I didn't realize there was only a 32GB drive in a laptop I bought. Of course it was a couple updates behind, so using Rufus, I attempted to update the critter . . . Uh, nope! Not gonna update; not enough space! Etc., etc., etc.

I took the computer back and explained the situation. No problem, I walked out with another lappy just like the first one.

I did, finally, after jumping though numerous hoops, manage to update the silly thing, but I wasn't prepared to go through that with every update Microsoft came up with. Nope, you dummy; there's not enough space to update! So, I took that one back too, and chose another lappy with a 500GB drive! Update Heaven . . .

Looking back, since I had no problem returning two computers (that with proper knowledge could be updated) to Office Depot must have already experienced folks not being able to update because of lack of space/knowledge. A couple weeks later, those 32GB puppies were nowhere to be found on the shelves.

The bottom line here is that most folks, especially those who only have rudimentary technical knowledge of computers, won't have the know-how to do what you did, nor even what I finally managed to do.

I can only imagine that there was a lot of money lost on those silly things. And a lot of hair-pulling by those who normally knew what they were doing when it comes to updates!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy TE01-1xxx
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Motherboard
    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
    Memory
    16384 MBytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
    PSU
    HP
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    Standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's all Folks!
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x
    Hard Drives
    SSD (512 GB)
    HDD (1 TB)
    Seagate
    PSU
    Intel i7 10th Generation
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    HP/Intel?
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Internet Speed
    50 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox 90.2
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Headphone/Microphone Combo
    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
    SuperSpeed USB Type-C
    DVD Writer
It's all well and good that you had such an enjoyable experience with a 32GB system . . .

Back when they first came out, I didn't realize there was only a 32GB drive in a laptop I bought. Of course it was a couple updates behind, so using Rufus, I attempted to update the critter . . . Uh, nope! Not gonna update; not enough space! Etc., etc., etc.

I took the computer back and explained the situation. No problem, I walked out with another lappy just like the first one.

I did, finally, after jumping though numerous hoops, manage to update the silly thing, but I wasn't prepared to go through that with every update Microsoft came up with. Nope, you dummy; there's not enough space to update! So, I took that one back too, and chose another lappy with a 500GB drive! Update Heaven . . .

Looking back, since I had no problem returning two computers (that with proper knowledge could be updated) to Office Depot must have already experienced folks not being able to update because of lack of space/knowledge. A couple weeks later, those 32GB puppies were nowhere to be found on the shelves.

The bottom line here is that most folks, especially those who only have rudimentary technical knowledge of computers, won't have the know-how to do what you did, nor even what I finally managed to do.

I can only imagine that there was a lot of money lost on those silly things. And a lot of hair-pulling by those who normally knew what they were doing when it comes to updates!
Amen to that! I never really dealt with this before, but I was surprised at how well it all worked. But I still have not tried an upgrade, I just went right for a clean install, so I'm sure that eliminated a lot of hassles.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
Amen to that! I never really dealt with this before, but I was surprised at how well it all worked. But I still have not tried an upgrade, I just went right for a clean install, so I'm sure that eliminated a lot of hassles.
Oh, my, yes it did! Since only about 20GB is necessary to clean install Windows, it goes swimmingly! Not so much when you're updating/upgrading because the whole package needs to be on the Hard Drive along with the existing OS. Add to that all the temporary files added . . . Whatamess!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy TE01-1xxx
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Motherboard
    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
    Memory
    16384 MBytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
    PSU
    HP
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    Standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's all Folks!
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x
    Hard Drives
    SSD (512 GB)
    HDD (1 TB)
    Seagate
    PSU
    Intel i7 10th Generation
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    HP/Intel?
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Internet Speed
    50 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox 90.2
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Headphone/Microphone Combo
    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
    SuperSpeed USB Type-C
    DVD Writer
I didn't know compact OS was a option.

I have the ASUS e203 but mine is only 2gb of ram with 32gb emmc.

I bought it years ago as something I could carry on the bus to do some work instead of lugging around my xps 15.

From what I remember when there was a update windows would ask you plug in a usb stick for extra temporary storage.

Might have to dig it out at some point and see if windows 11 will install on it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 3900X
    Motherboard
    X470-F
    Memory
    Corsair 32GB DDR4 3600 MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
    Sound Card
    SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 25UM58 Ultrawide
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1080
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Force MP510 480GB
    Corsair Force MP510 240GB
    Samsung SSD 870 EVO 250GB
    Seagate Barracuda 4TB HDD
    PSU
    Corsair RM550x
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R5
    Cooling
    3X Case Fans
    Keyboard
    Ducky One2 SF 65% Black RGB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Rival 310
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 15 7590
    CPU
    Intel i7-9750H
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    512 GB SSD
I've tried to follow this thread. I've only been involved in a couple of these low grade machines. In Windows 10, when an upgrade came down the pike and a machine did not have enough storage, the process would tell me. I could insert a usb drive, point to it and the upgrade would use it to create the windows.old folder. Then the machine would upgrade. Is that no longer possible in WIndows 11 without jumping through all these hoops? Just askin'.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium

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