Tiny11 builds a Windows 11 ISO that is 3.7GB in size, and installs in less than 10GB. It is so stripped down it doesn’t even have a web browser, so it requires minimal updates, and runs great as a VM.
Personally, I use it for things like configuring Webcams or Controllers.
I recommend installing in KVM using a qcow2 disk image named Tiny11-Base.qcow2, then:
Install VirtIO tools
https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/archive-virtio/
To get VirtIO on there you can use a USB stick, or use PowerShell as Administrator to download:
$url = "https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/archive-virtio/virtio-win-0.1.285-1/virtio-win-guest-tools.exe"
$output = "c:\Users\User\Download\virtio.exe"
Import-Module BitsTransfer
Start-BitsTransfer -Source $url -Destination $output
Mount folders
This is so you don’t need a browser or to use PowerShell for downloading. I mount my local Downloads folder.
Guide: https://www.debugpoint.com/kvm-share-folder-windows-guest/
Latest FSP (Fuse for Windows) at time of writing: https://github.com/winfsp/winfsp/releases/download/v2.2B1/winfsp-2.2.26112.msi
Snapshot and backup
Shutdown and create backups.
This retains sparse file compatibility (a disk that can grow as needed).
- Snapshot will give you two files. Point your VM to the second one to use the snapshot.
- The backup command will backup the original and the snapshot.
Snapshot
qemu-img create -f qcow2 -b Tiny11-Base.qcow2 -F qcow2 Tiny11-Active.qcow2
Backup
tar --use-compress-program=pbzip2 -cSvf Tiny11.tar.bz2 Tiny11*.qcow2
Export KVM
virsh dumpxml Tiny11 > Tiny11.xml
Restore qcow2
tar --use-compress-program=pbzip2 -xvf ./Tiny11.tar.bz2
Import KVM
virsh define Tiny11.xml
YSK projects like this can be insecure and possibly contain malware or time-bombs or other nastiness. Not saying this does, but definitely something to be aware of.
Do you mean in addition to Win11?
Not sure if joking or not, but yes. Outside of spyware that is Win11, projects that customize distros could contain unwanted, malicious hidden software.
i think iot would be the ‘safer’ option for a ‘stripped-down’ install. void of nearly all the crud, it still gets updates (important for windows) and can still game and run anything.
What about ltsc?
It’s hilariously telling that the windows start menu simply doesn’t know what to do if you don’t have 99% of it filled with bullshit.
Tiny11 scripts are open source and widely recommended, so I’d be surprised, but yea always possible.
That’s true of all software. Always has been, always will be.
What is KVM? Keyboard/virtual terminal thing?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel-based_Virtual_Machine in this context, most likely
Close! Kernel Virtual Module. It’s the way Linux systems using
libvirt/virt-managerandqemuhandle virtual machines.Thanks!
Makes me think of many Medicat tools (and others like Macrium Reflect) that boot up a tiny windows installation just to run a single piece of software.
I’m used to Linux being used for that, so it’s funny when it’s Windows.
I used to work IT in a hospital, and you would be surprised how many medical devices still run Windows 7 or even XP. Offline devices, of course. And behind locked doors. But stuff for scopes etc.
Yea, one of my popular projects was https://github.com/Fmstrat/winapps/, which was often called “Linux Subsystem for Windows” by some, which I found funny. I also always found that (and WSL) to sound backwards.
Last time I tried this, it was fundamentally broken for some reason I can’t remember. Does it work again? Previously I had to settle on M$’s IoT install to strip out everything I didn’t want.
Worked great for me.
I use it on my main computer for video / photo / audio editing and gaming.
It’s been a year and I can’t complain.
Now this is a top quality YSK. Bookmarking this one!
Huh that could be quite useful, I’ll keep that in mind next time I need to do maintenance on a friend’s computer.
Can it be easily set up without a Microsoft account?
Yes it can. If you create a bootable usb with Rufus you can even create the local account before launching the install.
Yeah I’ve used Rufus before to provision large numbers of windows machines… if this helps preserve the local account setup that’s a big deal to my workflow.
I set one up in a VM last year and it didn’t need a MS account as far as I remember (been a while since I’ve needed to boot it up)
So what can’t I do with tiny11? Does the stuff it strip out mean I can’t use it for my tv gaming pc?
Everything has worked for me thus far. You can also add in elements it strips out after the fact. That being said I don’t use it for much.
