Developer NTDEV has demonstrated a heavily modified installation of Windows 11 version 26H2 running with just 128MB of RAM, approximately 3.1% of Microsoft’s official 4GB minimum requirement. The experimental configuration can reach the Windows desktop and launch basic applications, including File Explorer and Notepad, although performance is extremely slow.
NTDEV, best known for creating the lightweight Windows project Tiny11, initially shared the achievement on October 31, 2026, describing it as a possible world record. A subsequent demonstration published on November 1 showed that the stripped-down operating system retained limited desktop functionality despite having only a fraction of the memory normally required by Windows 11.
The demonstration identifies the operating system as Windows 11 Enterprise version 26H2, build 26300.9457. A screenshot of Task Manager shows approximately 127MB of recognized physical memory, with roughly 122MB already in use. That leaves virtually no available memory for additional applications or background processes.
Nevertheless, NTDEV demonstrated that File Explorer could open, the Start menu remained functional, and the classic version of Notepad could run. The developer also showed basic multitasking, although the system responded exceptionally slowly.
The achievement is particularly notable when compared with Microsoft’s minimum Windows 11 hardware requirements. A standard installation officially requires at least 4GB of RAM, meaning NTDEV’s experimental configuration operates with one-thirty-second of that capacity.
However, the demonstration should not be mistaken for evidence that Windows 11 is practical on computers equipped with only 128MB of memory. NTDEV explicitly acknowledged the severe performance limitations, and the experiment does not establish that modern applications, games, or typical desktop workloads can function acceptably under these conditions.
The experiment is connected to NTDEV’s ongoing work on Pico11, an extreme Windows reduction project that explores how much of the operating system can be removed while preserving basic functionality.
In October, the developer also demonstrated a Pico11 installation image smaller than 700MB, reducing the complete Windows 11 ISO, including its installer, to 699,811,840 bytes. That configuration was small enough to fit on a conventional CD while retaining a working desktop and basic applications.
Achieving such reductions requires substantial modifications to Windows. The Pico11 demonstration removed Windows Update and general servicing capabilities, limiting the system’s suitability for normal use. The 128MB experiment similarly relies on an aggressively reduced Windows environment rather than an officially supported Microsoft configuration.
Pico11 remains an experimental proof of concept rather than a replacement for a standard Windows installation. NTDEV’s publicly available Tiny11 Builder project offers a separate approach to creating lightweight Windows images, but the 128MB result should not be interpreted as a performance target users can reliably reproduce on ordinary hardware.
For PC enthusiasts, the demonstration illustrates how dramatically Windows resource requirements can be reduced when nonessential components are stripped away. It does not indicate that Microsoft has lowered Windows 11’s official requirements or that such modifications deliver better gaming performance.
The distinction is important for gaming systems, where substantially more memory is needed to run contemporary titles and their associated background processes. Steam’s October 2026 hardware survey identified 16GB as the most common system memory configuration among participating users, highlighting how far removed NTDEV’s experiment is from typical gaming PC hardware.
For now, the 128MB demonstration represents a technical experiment in operating-system minimization, showing that essential parts of Windows 11 can remain functional under extreme memory constraints, even when the resulting experience is too slow for practical everyday computing.
