Summary
- Microsoft remains firm on Windows 11 hardware requirements.
- A developer successfully runs Windows 11 on 184MB of RAM.
- Running a modified Windows 11 may strip essential features that you need.
From issuing warnings to those using Windows 11 on older hardware to reiterating its commitment to the TPM 2.0 requirement, Microsoft has shown no interest in relaxing the minimum hardware requirement to run the latest version of Windows. A few months ago, the software giant also patched one of the famous setup exploits used to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware.
However, Windows tinkerers keep coming up with different solutions to defy all those limitations and help people successfully run Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. Now, developer @NTDEV_, the brain behind Windows ISO modifier Tiny11, has achieved the feat again, though, this time around, they broke all records by successfully running Windows 11 24H2 on 184MB of RAM for the first time.
Experiment shows Windows 11 24H2 can run on 184MB of RAM
This isn't unheard of, though. A couple of years ago, the same developer showed the world Windows 11 22H2 on just 176MB of RAM using Tiny11. However, in the case of Windows 11 24H2, the developer has likely applied further modifications other than using Tiny11 to run the OS on 184MB of RAM. Even though the OS runs in Safe Mode, it's no small feat given that the minimum RAM requirement for running the OS is multiple times higher than 184MB.
As shown in the video, this isn't running Windows 11 Pro or Home. Instead, the hack shows it's running Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC, for which the minimum RAM requirement is 4GB, the same as the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11. As for the performance, as we'd expect, it doesn't perform remotely as close to your Windows 11 PCs. While you can multitask on it, the opening of apps is painfully slow.
3 reasons nobody should care about Microsoft's new warning to Windows 11 users
Its arguments don't hold water.
Should you run Windows 11 on unsupported hardware?
If it's your primary computer, you shouldn't install the Windows 11 update using any hacks, especially Tiny11, because it might strip the OS of features essential to your workflow. Another major issue is that you might also encounter unexpected errors while working on something important. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun: you can always experiment with Windows 11 on a virtual machine.