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Why Windows 11 on a VM is much smaller in size compared to actual Windows 11?
I installed the exact same .ISO of Windows 11 on a VM and on real hardware.
Windows 11 installed on real hardware
with tweaks is around
23GB
The tweaks i ran:
1) Debloat
2) Clean and Disable System Restore
3) Disable Reserved Storage
4) Clean WinSxS using /ResetBase
5) Enabling Compact OS
Applying the same tweaks on the exact same install but on a
VM , Windows 11 will be only
6.5GB
What's even weirder is that even WITHOUT applying any tweaks, stock Windows 11 on a VM is still MUCH smaller than TWEAKED real Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Core i5 13600KF
Motherboard
Asrock Z790 PG Lightning
Memory
2x16GB 7200Mhz C34 Tuned
Graphics Card(s)
Radeon RX 6700 XT
Monitor(s) Displays
Philips 24M1N3200ZA (165Hz IPS)
Screen Resolution
1080p
Hard Drives
1TB NVMe (3GB/s)
PSU
Aerocool VX 550W
Case
Aerocool Hive v3
Cooling
Xilence M705D
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Malwarebytes
Well-known member
Guru
VIP
VMs do not have hibernation files or all the temporary files e.g. appdata, program data etc.
OS
Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS Zenbook 14
CPU
I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
Motherboard
Yep, Laptop has one.
Memory
16 GB soldered
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel Iris XE
Sound Card
Realtek built in
Monitor(s) Displays
laptop OLED screen
Screen Resolution
2880x1800 touchscreen
Hard Drives
1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
PSU
Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
Case
Yep, got one
Cooling
Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
Keyboard
Built in UK keybd
Mouse
Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
Internet Speed
900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)
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Thread Starter
VMs do not have hibernation files or all the temporary files e.g. appdata, program data etc.
Sure, but almost 17GB difference? Still way too much to believe that's only what's different.
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Core i5 13600KF
Motherboard
Asrock Z790 PG Lightning
Memory
2x16GB 7200Mhz C34 Tuned
Graphics Card(s)
Radeon RX 6700 XT
Monitor(s) Displays
Philips 24M1N3200ZA (165Hz IPS)
Screen Resolution
1080p
Hard Drives
1TB NVMe (3GB/s)
PSU
Aerocool VX 550W
Case
Aerocool Hive v3
Cooling
Xilence M705D
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Malwarebytes
Stock Market Wizard
Pro User
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Sure, but almost 17GB difference? Still way too much to believe that's only what's different.
What's the size of your recycle bin?
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell XPS 16 9640
CPU
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
Memory
32GB LPDDR5x 7467 MT/s
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6
Monitor(s) Displays
16.3 inch 4K+ OLED Infinity Edge Touch
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2400
Hard Drives
1 Terabyte M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Cooling
Vapor Chamber Cooling
Mouse
None
Internet Speed
960 Mbps Netgear Mesh + 2 Satellites
Browser
Microsoft Edge (Chromium) + Bing
Antivirus
Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
Other Info
Microsoft 365 subscription
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
CPU
i5 1035G4
Memory
8 GB
Hard Drives
256GB SSD
Mouse
None
Internet Speed
960 Mbps Netgear Mesh + 2 Satellites
Browser
Microsoft Edge (Chromium) + Bing
Antivirus
Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
Other Info
Microsoft 365 subscription (Office)
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Sure, but almost 17GB difference? Still way too much to believe that's only what's different.
Don't forget also the hidden files on c:
pagefile.sys
& less consequential swapfile.sys.
OS
Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. TUF Gaming FX705GM
CPU
2.20 gigahertz Intel i7-8750H Hyper-threaded 12 cores
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. FX705GM 1.0
Memory
24428 Megabytes
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
Sound Card
Intel(R) Display Audio / Realtek(R) Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Integrated Monitor (17.3"vis)
Screen Resolution
FHD 1920X1080 16:9
Hard Drives
2 SSD SATA/NVM Express 1.3
PSU
19V DC 6.32 A 120 W
Cooling
Dual Fans
Mouse
MS Bluetooth
Internet Speed
Fiber 1GB Cox -us & IGB Orange-fr
Browser
Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly-Chrome Dev-Chrome Dev
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Other Info
VMs of Windows 11 stable/Beta/Dev/Canary
Operating System
Windows 11 Insider Canary
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS X751BP
CPU
AMD Dual Core A6-9220
Motherboard
ASUS
Memory
8 GB
Graphics card(s)
AMD Radeon R5 M420
Sound Card
Realtek
Monitor(s) Displays
17.3
Screen Resolution
1600X900 16:9
Hard Drives
1TB 5400RPM
clinically tested and unapproved
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There’s also a difference in drivers. Real hardware has especially large drivers, like from Intel, who loves to make multi-GB video drivers for Pete’s sake. Not that I’m salty about it or anything.
OS
Windows 11 Pro 24H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Intel NUC12WSHi7
CPU
12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P, 2100 MHz
Motherboard
NUC12WSBi7
Memory
64 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Iris Xe
Sound Card
built-in Realtek HD audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell U3219Q
Screen Resolution
3840x2160 @ 60Hz
Hard Drives
Samsung SSD 990 PRO 1TB
Keyboard
CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
Operating System
Linux Mint 21.2 (Cinnamon)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Intel NUC8i5BEH
CPU
Intel Core i5-8259U CPU @ 2.30GHz
Memory
32 GB
Graphics card(s)
Iris Plus 655
Keyboard
CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears
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There’s also a difference in drivers. Real hardware has especially large drivers, like from Intel, who loves to make multi-GB video drivers for Pete’s sake. Not that I’m salty about it or anything.
If you wanted to be salty, DISM import the entire NVIDIA driver folder and get a 50 GB ISO from DLL duplication. No big deal.
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Run a tool like Treesizefree and get a breakdown where all the space is being consumed. That will show you the culprit real quick.
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Beelink SEI8
CPU
Intel Core i5-8279u
Motherboard
AZW SEI
Memory
32GB DDR4 2666Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Iris Plus 655
Sound Card
Intel SST
Monitor(s) Displays
Asus ProArt PA278QV
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
512GB NVMe
PSU
NA
Case
NA
Cooling
NA
Keyboard
NA
Mouse
NA
Internet Speed
500/50
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
Mini PC used for testing Windows 11.
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard
Asus Rog Strix X570-E Gaming
Memory
64GB DDR4-3600
Graphics card(s)
EVGA GeForce 3080 FT3 Ultra
Sound Card
Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ. ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV 27” WQHD
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
2TB WD SN850 PCI-E Gen 4 NVMe
PSU
Seasonic Focus 850
Case
Fractal Meshify S2 in White
Cooling
Dark Rock Pro CPU cooler, 3 x 140mm case fans
Mouse
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
Keyboard
Corsiar K65 RGB Lux
Internet Speed
500/50
Browser
Chrome
Antivirus
Defender.
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Thread Starter
What's the size of your recycle bin?
It's empty
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Core i5 13600KF
Motherboard
Asrock Z790 PG Lightning
Memory
2x16GB 7200Mhz C34 Tuned
Graphics Card(s)
Radeon RX 6700 XT
Monitor(s) Displays
Philips 24M1N3200ZA (165Hz IPS)
Screen Resolution
1080p
Hard Drives
1TB NVMe (3GB/s)
PSU
Aerocool VX 550W
Case
Aerocool Hive v3
Cooling
Xilence M705D
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Malwarebytes
Well-known member
Pro User
VIP
VM's have all sorts of features to enable much more dynamic use and release of resources and of course paravirtualisation means that zillions of drivers etc don't need to be loaded for the OS or even for specific hardware. So in general it's not safe to assume a 1:1 ratio between a VM and the equivalent real machine.Of course if you run apps like photoshop in a VM then you'll still need similar resources to the same app running on a physical machine such as disk data areas for scratch files / layers etc.
OS
Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
Computer type
PC/Desktop
CPU
2 X Intel i7
