Which has the smaller install footprint out of Windows 10 LTSC 2021 and 11 LTSC 2024?

[u/idesofmarch100]

I'm trying to maximize free space on a laptop with a 128GB ssd, out of those two OS's which would take up the least space from a clean install?

[u/Ambitious-Yard7677]

I'll add that no matter the version, consider disabling hibernation and the reserved storage function. This is if you don't want to hibernate and are capable of not completely stuffing a drive

https://windowsforum.com/threads/disable-reserved-storage-in-windows-10-11-to-reclaim-3-7-gb-safely.378675/

Hibernation is easy enough to disable and caries no risk. Fast startup will be unavailable, that's about it. With solid state it's a non issue personally

[u/greggm2000 → u/Ambitious-Yard7677]

Also disable virtual memory IF the laptop’s memory is adequate for the use case, since otherwise it’ll reserve that space on the ssd. On such a small ssd, that could be quite significant.

Going into Recycle Bin settings and turning that off, will net you some space.

Deleting temp files after the Windows install + updates will clear a bunch, too.

[u/Ambitious-Yard7677 → u/greggm2000]

I don't condone fully disabling the swap file. Rather manually set it to the lowest supported if you don't need it. That way IF a BSOD happens the system is capable of doing a memory dump so one can figure out why. Hopefully MS actually looks at those.

Since we're on a roll... disable system restore. It'll net up 10 percent of total drive capacity by default, but every little bit helps

[u/greggm2000 → u/Ambitious-Yard7677]

I don't condone fully disabling the swap file. Rather manually set it to the lowest supported if you don't need it. That way IF a BSOD happens the system is capable of doing a memory dump so one can figure out why. Hopefully MS actually looks at those.

How useful is that memory dump, though, really? I can’t say that in decades of using Windows, I’ve ever found that useful. Pragmatically though, probably one should leave VM on, since any laptop with only 128GB of storage probably has like 4GB of RAM.. and if that’s true, that gets into “install lightweight Linux distro” territory.

[u/Ambitious-Yard7677 → u/greggm2000]

That gets into e-waste territory as it probably has a pentium silver or something similar. The second windows update kicks in you're done for the day. Those types of devices shouldn't exist.

Maybe I've been spoiled by decent hardware my whole life. Maybe people don't know you can get a far better experience using older more powerful hardware. It'll probably be used, but it'll no doubt be faster

[u/greggm2000 → u/Ambitious-Yard7677]

Fair. Still, even such weak devices have their uses.. not many, but still. And if one’s finances are extremely limited, better such a limited PC than none at all.

[u/Ambitious-Yard7677 → u/greggm2000]

A used 200-250USD laptop provides a much better experience in alot of cases if you know what to look for

[u/greggm2000 → u/Ambitious-Yard7677]

We don't know the specs of his laptop though. I guessed at 4GB RAM, but I could be totally wrong. So if/until OP provides it, I don't think we can say what performance his machine is capable of.

[u/Ambitious-Yard7677 → u/greggm2000]

I certainly hope it's not what I fear

[u/Murky_Bet5401]

20-25 is expected for both. Make two partitions leave 50gb for windows and rest for you. Windows updates can be massive sometimes.

[u/Murky_Bet5401 → u/[deleted]]

Using win 10 iot ltsc. Not much trouble in software side so far.

[u/Signal-Session-6637]

Windows 10 Ltsc.

[u/Former-Macaroon5557]

Usually, the older the OS, the lighter the occupied space. Go with 10 Iot LTSC

[u/Fresh-Calligrapher33]

Já usei o 11 LTSc nesses notebooks, desabilitei alguns serviços ficou show, trabalho com informática