We love the fact that Windows 11 is feature-rich and visually modern, although there are some UI inconsistencies that Rectify11 has fixed to a large extent. Apart from that, Microsoft has been adding several new features to its desktop OS since Windows 10 days. Fast forward, and both Windows 10 and 11 are bloated with new features, unnecessary apps, and redundant background services. To be frank, Windows 10/11 feels quite heavy compared to Windows 7. And now, to trim down Windows 10 to its bare essentials, a developer has released Tiny10, which is a lightweight version of Windows 10. It takes much less space, works even on low RAM computers, and comes with no bloatware. To find out what is Tiny10 and how to install it, keep on reading.
We have discussed everything about Tiny10 and how lightweight it is in comparison to the vanilla Windows 10 installation. We have also included a tutorial on how to install Tiny10 on any PC (both 32-bit and 64-bit). You can also read our first impression of Tiny10, the super powerful and lightweight Windows 10 build, towards the end.
- Stripped Down Windows 10: What is Tiny10?Differences Between Tiny10 and Windows 10How to Install Tiny10 (Stripped Down Windows 10)Tiny10: My First ImpressionsFrequently Asked Questions
Stripped Down Windows 10: What is Tiny10?
Tiny10 is a stripped-down version of Windows 10, and it has been developed by a developer named NTDEV. We know how bloated Windows has become at this point, so this project aims to remove all the unnecessary components. That means you can run Windows 10 smoothly, even on low-end hardware. Note that Tiny10 has not just removed bloatware, but it has been optimized from the ground up to reduce Windows 10’s footprint.
For example, if you install Tiny10 on a 32-bit system, it only takes 5.2GB of disk space, which is a breakthrough. A vanilla Windows 10 system takes up to 22GB of space. To reduce the installation size by 17GB is just great. On 64-bit systems, Tiny10 takes up to 10GB of disk space. And in terms of RAM, you can run Tiny10 on a 32-bit system with just 1GB of RAM, and on a 64-bit system, you can make do with 2GB of RAM, which is nothing short of amazing. We already know Windows 10 comes to a grinding halt, even on a system with 4GB of RAM.
As for the apps, Tiny10 has removed all the default apps like the image viewer, internet explorer, media player, etc. Only Notepad and Wordpad are available on this stripped-down build of Windows 10. Moreover, it’s important to know that Tiny10 does not come with Microsoft Store or Windows Security. You will need to sideload the apps you want.
To begin with, Tiny10 is fast and fluid in comparison to vanilla Windows 10. There is no bloatware to be found on Tiny10. All the bloatware, unnecessary apps, services, and system components have been removed by the developer. For example, you can check out the difference in the Start menu below.
Tiny10 vs Windows 10: Start menu
I also kept a keen eye on the CPU and RAM usage on Tiny10, and surprisingly, it was merely taking 1% of CPU and 1.6GB of RAM when sitting idle. In comparison, Windows 10 kept its CPU usage in check, but RAM usage was constantly above 2.5GB. Here’s the Task Manager overview of Tiny10 and Windows 10.
Tiny10 vs Windows 10: Task Manager
How to Install Tiny10 (Stripped Down Windows 10)
Go ahead and download the ISO image of Tiny10 based on your system architecture: 32-bit (1.7GB) | 64-bit (2.4GB). We did a preliminary check of the files on VirusTotal and didn’t notice any red flags, so that’s a good sign.
Now, open Rufus, plug the USB drive, select the ISO image, and click on “Start“. Make sure the File system is NTFS.
After the flashing process begins, we suggest you make some downloads in the meantime to have a hassle-free experience. There is no browser included in Tiny10, so we suggest downloading the standalone setup of Google Chrome from here. After that, transfer it to the root directory of the flashed USB drive. Also, you can download and transfer a tool like Driver Booster to update your drivers.
Next, plug the USB drive into the target PC and restart it. When the PC restarts, press the boot key (should be one of the function keys – F9, F8, F7, etc.). If you don’t know the boot key for your PC or laptop, look it up on the internet. Once you are on the boot selection screen, select your USB drive and hit Enter.
Your PC will now load Tiny10’s installation window, which is similar to Windows 10’s setup window. Follow the on-screen instructions and choose your preferred drive. Finally, click on “Next” to install the OS.
Once the installation is complete, you will boot directly to Tiny10. Enjoy the minimal Windows 10!
Tiny10: My First Impressions
I have extensively used Windows 10 in the past and am currently using Windows 11, and I can say that Tiny10 has surprised me. I used Tiny10 for a legion of tasks from playing games like CS: GO to enabling Hyper-V during my testing this week, and it worked every single time without throwing any tantrums. It constantly kept the CPU and RAM usage in check. I was able to do much more on Tiny10 because I feel there is still room for performing a task. It does not feel laggy at all.
The Start menu opens in a jiffy. There is no Bing search integrated into the search bar so search results are wicked fast, no telemetry in the background, and no weird services raking disk usage to 100%, among other things. It’s overall a smooth and pleasant experience. To sum up, don’t think twice and try Tiny10 if you are using a low-end PC or just someone having a bad experience with vanilla Windows 10. You will have to take care on the security front by installing an antivirus on Windows 10, but apart from that, you will absolutely love the clean and lightness of Tiny10 without compromising on features.
Q. Is Tiny10 developed by Microsoft?
The 64-bit ISO image of Tiny10 takes up to 2.4GB of space, and the 32-bit image is around 1.7GB in size.
Q. Is it safe to install Tiny10?
