Booting Windows 11 from a CD
Professional Windows developer NTDEV has showcased a tool for compressing Windows 11 into a minimal install. Based on an unreleased project called Pico11, the proof of concept keeps a working desktop and a few familiar apps while weighing in at 699,811,840 bytes, allowing it to fit onto a standard 700MB CD-ROM.
The test system running inside a virtual machine with 4GB allocated used approximately 883MB of RAM.
Performance and Legacy Components
In a demonstration video, a freshly installed Windows 11 ISO processed with Pico11 presents a familiar desktop interface. Standard applications such as the calculator, settings, Notepad, and Paint remain functional. However, the Task Manager appears to be a lightweight legacy version, potentially borrowed from an older operating system.
NTDEV notes that the build is strictly an experimental proof of concept rather than a replacement for standard installations, largely because Windows Update and servicing components were stripped away to meet CD-ROM capacity constraints. Developer tools related to Pico11 capabilities are expected to be integrated into the Tiny11 builder available on GitHub.
Relation to Tiny11
The Tiny11 project previously introduced Tiny11 Core and Custom modes for building streamlined ISOs. Pico11 shares similarities with Tiny11 Core by omitting servicing and recovery support, though additional optimizations were applied to achieve the ultra-compact size.
Previous custom builds created via Tiny11 have successfully removed bloatware to achieve around 2GB installation sizes, while more extreme distillations operated with minimal RAM consumption.
Further details regarding Pico11 and its public availability are anticipated as development continues.
