When purchasing a Windows PC or laptop, storage is likely to have been a concern. What is a reasonable amount to use on a daily basis? What is the size of the Windows installation? In order to install Windows on the C drive, what should the partition size be? All these lead to confusion for inexperienced users, so let’s calculate how much space you need to install Windows 11/10.
How much space do you need to install Windows 11?
If you are planning to install Windows on your computer, you would need to format the C drive or remove old Windows files before reinstalling. When this happens, Windows will replace any files that were previously installed with the new ones. A Windows 11 installation requires different requirements than a Microsoft installation needs. There is a 64 GB storage requirement for Windows 11 for the office. However, according to the Windows 11 Requirements page, you may need more disk space if you want to download updates or enable certain features.
Windows 11 requires a storage device with 64 GB or more. However, the minimum hard disk space requirement for Windows 10 is 16GB for a 32-bit OS and 20GB for a 64-bit OS. The operating system space requirement includes the default apps that come with Windows. You will need more memory if you add any additional scripts.
Make sure your new partition has twice or triple the recommended space when you create it for Windows installation. It won’t just be Windows that you’ll be using, you’ll also be using apps, downloading files, storing files, etc. In fact, if you are building a gaming computer, you might even need more. The Windows System drive is the best place to install your applications, even if you can install them on another drive.
What is the size of the Windows 11 installation download?
You will need to download about 3.5 GB if you upgrade directly from Windows 10 to Windows 11. When installing Windows 11 via an ISO file, you’ll need at least 5.37 GB of space. There may be differences in the size of .ISO files in different languages. Considering that the installation file is 5.37 GB, you should know that this is a multi-edition installation.
What is the smallest edition of Windows 11?
It is likely you are familiar with Windows Home and Windows Pro edition but have you ever heard of Windows in S mode, Windows Education or Windows Enterprise? There are different features and capabilities in each edition.
1] Windows 11 S mode
The smallest install size under Windows 11 is usually found in S mode. It makes sense since Windows 11 Home is primarily a stripped-down version of the operating system, which only lets you install apps from the Store app and uses Microsoft Edge for browsing. There is no information available about the size of Windows 11 in S mode, but Windows 10 in S mode takes about 5 GB of memory.
In order to install Windows 11 in S mode, you will need to do a lot more work than the average person can handle. Therefore, it is better if device manufacturers handle this task. If you want to have the smallest Windows 11 version, look for devices that are running Windows 11 in S mode. There is an option to turn off S mode in Windows 11, but you can’t get back into it once you do.
2] Windows 11 Pro
A Windows 11 Pro installation takes up 18.09 GB of storage, which indicates that it is not domain-attached. It wouldn’t matter much if you were connected to a domain unless there were policies adding or removing Windows 11 Pro elements.
3] Windows 11 Home
It requires 17.88 GB of disk space to install Windows 11 Home without syncing with OneDrive. In the case of syncing your OneDrive with Windows 11, make sure to add its size by that number.
4] Windows 11 Education
Windows 11 Education requires 17.91 GB of space, which is slightly less than the Pro edition but more than the Home edition. During testing, this edition required the most time to install, but much of that time was set up for multi-factor authentication (MFA). There are also some other variations of these editions, including Windows 11 Education Pro and Windows 11 Home Single Language.
Why Does Microsoft Say 64 GB When Windows 11 Only Takes 18 GB?
Windows 11 only takes 18 GB, so why does Microsoft say 64 GB? It’s 46 GB larger than Windows 11’s default size, but why? This is due to the fact that setting up an OS takes up some space. The process of installing Windows 11 involves writing and removing data. Installing software may require more than 18 GB of space at any given time.
In addition, Windows 11 will perform badly if you have less than 64 GB of RAM. Once you install just a few programs, that 48 GB of free space will be exhausted, causing nothing to work.
Read More: How to Solve 100% or High CPU Usage in Windows 11
