Windows 10 Lean, the Smallest Windows for Minimal Install

Windows 10 Lean is not available to download anymore

Windows 10

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by Radu Tyrsina 

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Key notes

  • Windows Lean is the smallest OS from Microsoft and it occupies half the space of Windows 10.
  • This slimmed-down OS was created for tablets with 16 GB of free memory.
  • Windows Lean doesn't support CD or DVD drives and doesn't have certain important features found in Windows 10.
  • Another minimal version of Windows 10 is Windows 10 S, preinstalled in a lot of devices.
 

You probably heard that there’s a Windows 10 version on a diet and the latest reports say that the slimmed-down OS was available for download.

Windows 10 Lean is the minimum viable version of Windows 10 and it obviously runs on low specs devices.

Compared to the Windows 10 Pro, the Windows 10 Lean download is 2GB smaller and it occupies half of what Windows 10 would normally do after installation.

How can I download and install Windows 10 Lean?

1. What is Windows 10 Lean all about?

In this OS version, 175 MB is destined for apps and games, and drivers, programs, and wallpapers are missing from this small version of Windows 10.

If you compare the OS with Windows 10 Pro, over 55,500 files are missing. Another feature of Windows Lean is low resource usage. The 64-bit OS is using 1.5GB RAM and it’s great for a virtual machine.

It’s safe to say that Windows 10 is basically a legacy-free version of Windows 10. For instance, the Control Panel is empty instead of being flooded with items.

You can still install Win32 apps on it, unlike Windows RT which doesn’t allow it.

2. What is Windows 10 Lean’s purpose?

Windows 10 Lean reportedly targets tablets with 16GB of storage space but isn’t limited to those.

The OS would also make a perfect base for an operating system that is based on C-Shell. But the cut-down version of Windows 10 would have to offer a desktop.

3. How can I download and install Windows 10 Lean

Update: In the meantime, Windows 10 Lean has become obsolete and it’s not available for installation anymore.

The Windows 10 Lean ISO is still available on WindowslogItalia, but Microsoft doesn’t offer any support for it so we wouldn’t advise you to use it.

However, we have to thank Microsoft for another instance of the Windows 10 OS for low-memory devices: Windows 10 S.

You can find Windows 10 S on a lot of devices nowadays and mostly on laptops and 2-in-1 devices. This OS is not actually a distinct OS but only an iteration of Windows 10.

The S-mode of Windows 10 was created for educational purposes and it’s usually preinstalled by OEM or system builders, not by end-users.

If you have a device with Windows 10 S, you can disable the S mode although there have been problems with that process before.

However, you shouldn’t disable the S mode unless you are absolutely sure that your device can run Windows 10 because this is an irreversible process.

How do you feel about the short lifespan of this Windows 10 version? Leave us your thoughts in the comments section below.

More about the topics: windows 10

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina Shield

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.