""This was more of a fun proof of concept rather than something usable," @XenoPanther said. "Virtually nothing can run due to critical missing files such as common dialog boxes and common controls." The Windows 7 desktop does boot - barely - and "At least the genuine check is still intact." We'd quibble with the "virtually nothing" assertion. Anything with a graphical user interface would struggle, but would it be a problem to run a basic CLI app that only needed the Windows kernel?"
"In 2015, Microsoft showed off a version of Windows Server - Nano Server - with a disk footprint of 400 MB. Microsoft later discontinued the Nano Server option to focus on the Nano Server base container image, which weighed in at less than 300 MB. That's ideal for swift pulls, but less good for anything that needs more than the very limited APIs available."
Enthusiasts have created a 69 MB Windows 7 build by removing most files. The build boots to a desktop but lacks many GUI components, preventing most applications from running. The genuine Windows activation check remains functional. Minimal Windows builds can reduce virtual machine and container sizes and enable running legacy software with minimal overhead. Microsoft previously offered Nano Server with a 400 MB disk footprint and later a base container image under 300 MB, but those options provide very limited APIs. Community projects continue producing slimmed-down desktop Windows variants for niche use cases.
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